AFL stars Nick Dal Santo and Brendon Goddard believe it’s time for the league’s illicit drugs policy to be re-written.
The former St Kilda teammates, now at Essendon and North Melbourne, said the system had “aged” and players were taking advantage of “loopholes”.
Established in 2005, the current policy allows players three strikes before they are placed before the AFL’s general counsel and provides the chance to self-report once in their career to avoid a strike.
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“I don’t think the program was ever set up or agreed to by the players to exploit the system,” Dal Santo told Channel Nine.
“I feel like we’re getting to the point where particular players - I don’t know who they are or how often they do it - are being able to self-diagnose to the club doctor on a Monday and say ‘I did whatever on the weekend’.
“That’s not what the system was there for and the players never agreed to those sorts of things.”
“We probably didn’t see this coming 10-15 years ago when it was set up. I think there’s an opportunity to re-sit down.”
Figures from 2013 showed that four players were sitting on two strikes while 15 players tested positive to an illegal substance from 1,998 tests in that year.
Data from 2014 will be released in the coming months.
Bombers leader Goddard said the League could ill-afford to turn its back on the social issue now mirrored in the AFL.
“There are some guys that do have issues,” he said.
“We’ve seen past players now and obviously Ben Cousins is the obvious one.
“They need some help in it. (Players) don’t be naïve and say ‘we’re AFL footballers, we’re bulletproof, we can deal with every circumstance, we don’t need help’.”
“Let’s not forgot this is a social issue. Odds are, numbers are going to be similar (of players compared to society), if not more because of access to money.
“Let’s not be naïve and pigeonhole ourselves and categorise us. It’s a problem in society and we’re a part of it.”
Goddard said action should be taken after one positive test.
“It might be one strike with a sanction involved in that, which is involved around counselling and some help with it,” he said.
“We’ve got responsibilities as players, we know that. As role models we don’t deserve a second chance.
“If they want to put themselves as risk, they put a footy club at risk and they put their teammates at risk, then they’re being selfish in doing that. I think some changes need to be made.”
Dal Santo added: “We’ve just come to the point over the last two years obviously with Essendon, a couple of other things recently, that things need to be looked at.
“It’s an opportunity for us to re-assess it from a player’s point of view from the various agencies and governments that want to be a part of it to sit down and work through it.”
It came as Channel Nine revealed various Gold Coast players were with former Sun Karmichael Hunt on two of the four days he was charged with being in possession of cocaine last September
Hunt was found guilty of purchasing cocaine on the evening of the Suns’ Mad Monday celebrations, and the first morning of a three-day golf trip with a number of Suns players.
