Hawthorn president and CEO say the AFL's illicit drug policy should be tougher
HAWTHORN president Andrew Newbold has joined the growing chorus calling for the League to introduce a more stringent illicit drugs code.
Under the three-strikes policy – which was established in 2005 – players are allowed two positive returns for a prohibited substance before being punished for a third offence.
Newbold said he would be in favour of a tougher drugs code.
"If we're going to have a strikes policy, I think it should be two; you get one chance … but there's (also) a good argument for zero tolerance on this stuff," Newbold told Channel Seven on Monday night.
"If you choose to play in the AFL and you choose to take all the benefits that come with playing in the AFL, then you need to make a lifestyle choice as well.
"You got to make some sacrifices in return for the benefits."
Hawthorn chief executive Stuart Fox echoed Newbold's views.
"I've got in my mind what the policy should look like but it just can’t have as much tolerance and it needs to be a lot stricter and a lot more accountable for the players," Fox told SEN radio.
"It'll be a lot less tolerant to what it is, maybe a two-strike policy; after the first strike you could possibly go out for six months and if you do it again, you're out of the game.
"And even the out-of-season hair testing doesn't count as a strike, that gives you a lot of knowledge of what your players are doing and whether that should count.
"There's a whole lot of issues that need to be worked through."
