I found this article by our favorite journo very interesting, especially the timing.. Only a couple of weeks after the GF !!
A single drug cheat can now cost your team the grand finalFont Size: Decrease Increase Print Page: Print EXCLUSIVE: Patrick Smith | October 14, 2008
TEAMS face a loss of points or even premierships if players test positive to banned drugs on match days.
The AFL yesterday confirmed the right to change results of matches - including finals - if it believes the scores have been affected by drug abuse.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said the commission would act under rules that govern bringing the game into disrepute or conduct unbecoming if it was revealed a player was influenced by drugs and played an influential role irrespective of if it was a home-and-away game or a final.
Demetriou said: "If more than one player at one club tests positive to performance-enhancing drugs the league can act under rule 18 of the anti-doping code. The commission has the power to overturn the result of matches, fine the club, dock premiership points or even suspend the club."
However, Demetriou revealed that if only one player tested positive to performance-enhancing drugs on match day then the commission also had absolute power to act. That could include reversing the decision of a grand final.
The clarification of the AFL's powers is timely given the full commission yesterday assessed conditions that would apply to the return of former West Coast champion Ben Cousins to the competition. Cousins, suspended last year for 12 months for bringing the game into disrepute because of his drug addiction, has applied to the league to be registered again so he can enter the December national draft. St Kilda has expressed keen interest in picking up the 2005 Brownlow medallist.
Cousins was suspended by his club for much of season 2007 and then deregistered by the AFL after a series of incidents in Perth and the US. Cousins has stated publicly since then that he was addicted to drugs and sought treatment locally and overseas.
AFL general manager of football operations, Adrian Anderson, briefed the commission thoroughly on the protocols that would apply to Cousins' return. It is believed they involve reports from AFL medical staff as well as independent assessments. It is also believed Cousins will be required to undergo a hair test which can detect drug use over a three-month period.
"The AFL's policy would be in keeping with Olympic sport," Demetriou said.
Under Olympic rules if one member of a relay team returns a positive test officials have the power to withdraw any medal won.
"If the commission has evidence that a team had members positive to performance-enhancing drugs and that meant a match was not contested on a level playing field and the outcome of the match might have been affected, then rule 18 comes into play," Demetriou said.
He said that if the commission was presented with information that one player who had tested positive to drugs had a high impact on the game, then it would make a very interesting decision for the commission.
"Let's say if a player tested positive on match day after kicking 10 goals in a game his side won by a point obviously the commission would view that very seriously," Demetriou said.
The AFL has a remarkably clean record on performance-enhancing drugs, with only one positive result in more than 6000 tests since the introduction of its anti-doping code in 1990. The code is compliant with the World Anti-Doping Authority and targets performance-enhancing drugs with both match day and out-of-competition testing 365 days a year.
However, the AFL also tests for illicit drugs which include ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana and meth-amphetamine. Changes to the code this year mean that ketamine and GHB have now been included on the banned list as well.
WADA and the AFL treat illicit drugs as performance enhancing if present in a player's system on match day. In a review of the controversial three-strike illicit drug code in August, the AFL said: "Under the WADA code if a player tests positive for the illicit drug on match-day they face a ban of up to two years."
In the period from 2005 to 2007 the league recorded 42 positive tests to illicit drugs, with six players offending a second time. In 2007 the West Coast Eagles, premiers in 2006, were called before the AFL commission after a series of incidents which included reports of drug problems within the team. The AFL warned the club that any further incidents would see the club charged with bringing the game into disrepute.
The commission will meet again on November 17-18 to assess Cousins' application to re-register as an AFL player. The commission has not yet decided whether Cousins should appear before it or whether he should be subject to special playing conditions if he returns.
The revelation that the commission could invoke its absolute power should a player test positive on match day might temper the enthusiasm of clubs like St Kilda, Brisbane and Collingwood who have shown interest in drafting Cousins.
patrick.smith@bigpond.com
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INTERESTING ?? !!
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Treading warily.....
After reading that article again and the highlighted items, I don't think there is any specific link to any premiership past but more a warning for premierships future.
At least I'd like to think so.
After reading that article again and the highlighted items, I don't think there is any specific link to any premiership past but more a warning for premierships future.
At least I'd like to think so.
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kosifantutti23
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bigcarl
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I dont understand that comment. They have always been classed as peformance enhancing if caught on match day and are still classed as non performance enhancing if caught at any other time.bigcarl wrote:it's an admission, several years too late, that uppers such as amphetamines and stimulants such as cocaine can be performance enhancing.
wonder if that would apply to brownlow medals as well as grand finals?
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Eastern
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The whole in competition - out of competition thing confuses me. I think in competition should be any time between the last intra-club game prior to the NAB Cup and the week after you finish the season !!plugger66 wrote:I dont understand that comment. They have always been classed as peformance enhancing if caught on match day and are still classed as non performance enhancing if caught at any other time.bigcarl wrote:it's an admission, several years too late, that uppers such as amphetamines and stimulants such as cocaine can be performance enhancing.
wonder if that would apply to brownlow medals as well as grand finals?
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vacuous space
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bigcarl
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correct. even if they help you train better they should be classed as performance-enhancing.Eastern wrote:The whole in competition - out of competition thing confuses me. I think in competition should be any time between the last intra-club game prior to the NAB Cup and the week after you finish the season !!plugger66 wrote:I dont understand that comment. They have always been classed as peformance enhancing if caught on match day and are still classed as non performance enhancing if caught at any other time.bigcarl wrote:it's an admission, several years too late, that uppers such as amphetamines and stimulants such as cocaine can be performance enhancing.
wonder if that would apply to brownlow medals as well as grand finals?