Think AFL drug cover-ups are common? Sorry to disappoint, but they’re not

Ok, let’s cut to the chase: A politician has come out saying AFL clubs are secretly testing players for illicit substances and, if the results are positive, players are pulled in the days before a game day under the guise of injury.

At best, Wilkie’s claim is a slightly more fleshed-out version of what I heard on the grapevine back when I was playing AFL professionally, which was along the lines of: “So and so is a high-functioning drug addict, which means that they can get as many strikes as they want without actually getting strikes.”

If a player pulled out with a last-minute injury and then rocked up to the club on Monday, the coach would be having a conversation with them about what happened. If they had a sore hammy and weren’t seen to be icing it, then yeah, it’s pretty obvious something’s afoot. But this level of subterfuge arguably requires a level of acting above what most AFL players are capable of. On some level, coaches, teammates and team staff would know if and when this was happening.

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