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AFL hints goalposts on drugs policy might shift
Jake Niall
March 23, 2007
THE AFL has signalled a willingness to rethink its contentious illicit drugs code, with the Ben Cousins suspension prompting unprecedented soul-searching at club and league level.
While the AFL has not announced any review of its "three strikes" policy, the game's top officials, chief executive Andrew Demetriou and new chairman Mike Fitzpatrick, said yesterday that the league could "improve" its handling of the issue.
Illicit drugs were a big talking point at the annual meeting of presidents and the AFL Commission yesterday, when West Coast chairman Dalton Gooding called upon clubs to become better informed about the issue that has engulfed his club. Gooding also thanked other clubs for their support.
Fitzpatrick, who officially took over from the late chairman Ron Evans yesterday, said the AFL had "a lot of work to do" on the drugs issue, although it believed the present policy had served the game well.
"I'm not sure we'll quite get to where some of the clubs want to get and there's a difference of opinion among the clubs," Fitzpatrick said. "We had a meeting with the captains as well today and it's fair to say there's a difference of view among the captains. Some had the view that things were working well."
Most, if not all, clubs are reviewing their own policies and methods of dealing with the issue in light of Cousins and the apparent drug problem at West Coast.
Many clubs complain about the fact that under the present policy — which includes out-of-competition testing — only the club doctor and the AFL's top medical officer are told the identities of those who have one or two positive tests. Some clubs believe there should be stronger sanctions for the second strike.
"There seems to be a unanimous view that the policy we have in place is on the right track," Demetriou said. "There are elements of the policy that people have differing views of … when a club gets informed and doesn't get informed.
"What was pleasing was that all of us want to understand it better … It's a very complex issue."
Eagles coach John Worsfold said on Channel Nine's The Footy Show last night: "I can't convict someone when there's no evidence. It's speculation, we can't act on it. We don't know who the players are. There are rumours of who they are. It would certainly make it a lot easier for the coaches (if they were told).
"We can't do our own testing, otherwise we probably would. If a club knows, 'You've got three positives out of these 24', it sends alarm bells racing …"
Demetriou called the events surrounding Cousins "terribly sad".
"We care about Ben Cousins as a person. It's terribly sad for him and his family, and we'll continue to provide the best advice we can with his football club and his family to try (to) get Ben Cousins back to full health and, hopefully, playing football … what he loves doing."
Speaking at the season launch last night, Demetriou denied the need for the AFL to overhaul player support services. "I know the strengths and weaknesses of players better than most and I trust the system we have in place is the best way to provide for players who may have personal issues," he said.
Meanwhile, West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett said the Cousins saga would help the AFL reconsider drug-testing procedures. "… Certainly, I think it needs to be addressed so that we are more informed. Rather than probably guesswork or insinuation or innuendo, we would actually know if we have any problems in our club," he said.
With AAP and SARAH-JANE COLLINS
The Age