Dees wait to face the music

Melbourne's legal team has responded to tanking allegations levelled at former coach Dean Bailey and his assistants during the 2009 season. Source: Herald Sun

MELBOURNE'S legal team responded late yesterday to the AFL's tanking investigation and is now waiting to hear whether the league will lay any charges against the club.

Lawyers acting on the Demons' behalf lodged a response to the 1000-page report into suggestions Melbourne deliberately sought to lose games in 2009.

The report was compiled over a five-month period by AFL investigators Brett Clothier and Abraham Haddad and tabled six days before Christmas.

The league will decide this week whether Melbourne or any of its officials have committed any breaches relating to draft tampering and bringing the game into disrepute.

If so, it's up to the AFL commission to consider the matter at its next meeting in February.

Earlier in the day, Melbourne players gathered at the club for the 2013 team photo.

Coach Mark Neeld is buoyed by the new-look squad's preparation, and should have close to a full complement to choose from for the NAB Cup.

Mitch Clark (foot) and co-captain Jack Trengove might not return until closer to Round 1, while Ruckman Max Gawn has been placed on the long-term injury list with a hamstring tear that is expected to sideline him for two months.

Gawn missed the 2012 season due to a knee reconstruction.

Demons football manager Josh Mahoney said Gawn was "progressing well".

"We expect Max to return to playing football early in the season," Mahoney said.
 

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Green light for Black's return

Veteran Brisbane Lions midfielder Simon Black is aiming to be ready for round one. Picture: Peter Wallis. Source: The Courier-Mail

BRISBANE midfield marvel Simon Black will resume running this week and is on track to overcome a niggling knee injury in time to play round 1.

Black, 33, was yesterday due to run at full speed for the first time in six weeks after having minor surgery in December.

But the rain-soaked fields near Brisbane's temporary training venue of the state hockey centre at Colmslie were deemed unsafe.

Black will hit full stride in the coming days before what will be his 15th, and most likely final, AFL season.

While the imminent return to full training for the triple premiership player and Brownlow medallist is a boost to Brisbane's pre-season, Lions coach Michael Voss said Black would not be risked for the 2013 premiership opener, against the Bulldogs in Melbourne on March 30, if he was less than 100 per cent fit.

"He's got a fairly tight deadline to meet but we are pretty confident he will be good to go," Voss said.

"But by the same token, we build up round 1 so much and you have to remember that round 2 carries just as many premiership points ...

"We don't want to compromise the next 20-odd weeks for Blacky or the team, because the season is a marathon."

Brisbane's main group of players went through their paces on the artificial turf at Colmslie in steamy conditions because torrential rain during the long weekend made the normal preseason training base at Coorparoo unavailable.

Voss said the minor disruptions to Brisbane's training schedule caused by the wild weather had barely registered on the radar of the playing group.

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Players save themselves by dialing AFL

AFL players are saving themselves from drug tests when they believe they are in danger of being tested by self-reporting to the AFL.

CLUBS believe some players have activated the self-reporting loophole in the AFL's illicit drugs code when alerted to the presence of a tester.

A number of high-ranking club officials yesterday said they had been told players who become aware of a possible imminent test could immediately call AFL medicos to confess recent drug use.

The Herald Sun has reported that Collingwood players are among those to have confessed to drug use and dodged drug tests in the following days.

The Illicit Drugs Policy states: "A player may refer himself to the AFL Medical Officer for testing, education, counselling or treatment at any time. A player shall not be deemed to have recorded a positive test if he refers himself for such treatment prior to submitting a sample that subsequently returns a positive result."

The self-reporting loophole will be tightened today, with AFL clubs to also push for more information after a second positive drug strike.

But the AFL player union will resist, believing if club chief executives are told it raises the possibility of a player's confidentiality being breached.

The AFLPA said under the letter of the law players should not be able to self-report if the aim is to avoid an imminent positive test.

The player union said if drug testers were aware of that motive, a test would be conducted and a strike recorded if a positive result was found.

One club is believed to have had 10 incidences of six players self-reporting in 2012, with one putting his hand up three times in that period.

Critics argue those figures show players are taking advantage of the three-strikes system.

Sources say players especially those fearing they have drugs in their system are increasingly aware of the presence of drug testers which can lead to self-reporting.

Former West Coast and Richmond star Ben Cousins is known to have dodged drug tests after being alerted to the presence of testers by players already at the club.

Players who self-report are target-tested in future months, but for a player on two strikes future testing is clearly a risk worth taking.

AFLPA chief executive Matt Finnis said the policy had only recently been abused by players.

"In that very example, the player would have to do that drug test and he would be bound by any result that came from that but the policy has contained a provision which is there for a player who has used drugs, has an issue with drugs, to be able to put his hand up and seek help," he told SEN.

"That's because the nature of the policy is helping people to make change when they have made a mistake. If a player notifies, he then is able to get that assistance, be diverted into relevant programs and had he returned a subsequent policy he wouldn't be burdened with that on the basis that he's put his hand up to seek help."

One official said the policy was routinely abused.

"It can be an excuse as lame as 'my drink was spiked last night and I may have inadvertently taken drugs'," one club executive said.

"It means a player holds a Joker if he is on two strikes, a get-out-of-jail free card."

"Most players have reached a stage where they don't particularly care about one strike with some even prepared to roll the dice when on two strikes."

Confessed drug addict Cousins said he was often tipped off by teammates about the appearance of drug testers and simply failed to attend training to avoid positive tests.

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Waite: Drug users just stupid

Jarrad Waite says he is 100 per cent certian that Carlton is a drug-free club. Picture: Michael Klein. Source: Herald Sun

JARRAD Waite is confident Carlton is drug-free and said he would welcome daily testing to prove the club was clean.

Waite backed the AFL's three-strike drug policy but expected the AFL and AFL Players Association to closely scrutinise and possibly scrap the controversial self-reporting loophole at today's drugs summit.

The Herald Sun yesterday revealed four Collingwood players allegedly dodged strikes by volunteering drug-use to club doctors.

But Waite insisted Visy Park was a drug-free zone and said any player "stupid" enough to take drugs was jeopardising their football career.

"I don't see any of it," he said.

"I wouldn't mind if I got tested every day of the week, because I don't do it," Waite said before joining Carlton locals on Lygon St.

"If they want to do more tests, that's good because I've got full confidence, especially at Carlton, that we don't have a drug culture here.

"I would be very surprised if professional athletes were putting their careers at risk by doing drugs and doing stupid things like that.

"Personally, if I got tested every day, it would annoy me, but it wouldn't bother me because I don't do drugs."

There is a strong push to reduce the AFL's strikes policy from three to two but Waite said the AFL's current illicit drugs policy was a world-leader.

"I think our system is very good," he said..

"The players chose to have this system in place, and it's the best drugs system in the world.

"There is a lot of sports out there that don't get drug tested in the off-season.

"As a playing group we decided to be tested in the off-season to prove to the people that we are not a drug-cultured sport.

"If it changes we are fully supporting the AFL and the PA."

Waite, 29, said the self-reporting loophole would likely undergo close review.

"If there is any little loopholes, I'm sure having the summit tomorrow, if they think it is a big enough issue it will be changed," he said.

"It is up to the AFLPA and the AFL to see if they want to make any changes to the system and I'm sure tomorrow there will be an outcome about that."

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AFL must tackle drug problem

Former Collingwood star Gavin Crosisca admitted to being addicted to drugs during his playing career. Picture: Ian Currie. Source: Herald Sun

THE revelation a premiership-winning team gave up illicit drugs as part of its commitment to winning the flag first raised the red flag.

How can the AFL illicit drugs policy, and specifically its drug-testing procedures, not be detecting players?

How are the players escaping the testing?

How odd is it the players agreed to the testing for illicit drugs, a world leading program they say, and then hop right into them?

We're not talking about all players, of course, but enough of them to prompt Collingwood to initiate today's drug summit, believing illicit drug use among AFL players was now a matter of urgency.

The Magpies should be applauded for their stance.

They got kicked in the bum yesterday when it was revealed at least four players self-reported drug use to the AFL last year - and for that they got a back page of the Herald Sun - but they at least are fighting the fight.

There is an element of self-preservation admitting they had the problem before their problem was exposed.

Fact or fiction, stories of drug taking among players are common

But clubs laughing at Collingwood's expense should not be naive. If it is happening at Collingwood, it is happening elsewhere.

Anyway, back to the premiership-winning club.

It knew it had a major problem, and, driven by the players, it addressed the matter.

In a move away from traditional mission statements, the team met midway through the year - every player on the list - and a show of hands is understood to have found about a dozen players admitted they took drugs.

Then came the declaration: No more drugs for the remainder of the season.

It worked.

Not being cute, but if you listened to and accepted the AFL's version of events over the past decade of how many players take drugs, and how wonderful their drugs policy was, then drug taking was the least of the league's issues.

Finally, just as they have accepted that tanking is an agenda item, the AFL, via the Magpies, has put drug taking squarely on the agenda.

Fact or fiction, stories of drug taking among players are common.

Clubs receive calls every Monday morning, and newspapers aren't far behind. Social media is out of control.

This is not a hunting expedition on AFL players, for it is fact drug-taking is common among young people, and footballers are just that: young people.

And being rich and famous and buffed, and having the necessary self-belief, just about makes them Exhibit A for drug experimentation.

There are countless anecdotes - most recently about a group of young players from one club partaking at a popular music festival on the coast.

What about a few years ago, when, on a footy trip, one player asked who hadn't taken drugs - not who had - and only four players from more than 30 put up their hands?

One recently retired player said drug taking was commonplace at his club for at least five years.

And then there's the horror story of three former players from the one club battling drug addictions.

Add real names such as Chris Mainwaring, Gavin Crosisca and Ben Cousins - one of them is dead and the other two could have been.

Today's summit is a watershed moment.

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Robbo vows to win back respect

Carlton forward Mitch Robinson has been caught on footage in a scuffle at the Big Day Out in Flemington.

Mitch Robinson shown in a scuffle at the Big Day Out. Source: Herald Sun

CARLTON midfielder Mitch Robinson has vowed to win back his teammates respect after his Big Day Out fracas on Saturday.

Robinson, 23, was forced to front the leadership group and club chiefs to explain the ugly incident which was recorded on bystanders mobile phones.

He was ordered to donate $1000 to charity and serve two months community service.

Robinson said he would respond on the training track and try to avoid putting himself in risky situations in the future.

"I just want to focus on my footy and get back to training and get the respect back from the club and the boys," he said yesterday.

"Obviously you've got to think your way out of them a lot better than I did on the weekend.

"I learnt from that and we'll have a big week."

Forward Jarrad Waite said his energetic teammate had let the club down.

"He knows that he has done the wrong thing by the club and he knows that he has lost a little bit of respect," Waite said.

"But the good thing about Robbo is that he is a really good trainer and we know that he will come out with a positive attitude.

"He is so critical to the team but we've moved on now and so has he."
 

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Pilates get Waite back up and running

Jarrad Waite is back in the air thanks to a few pilates sessions. Picture: Mike Keating. Source: News Limited

CARLTON forward Jarrad Waite has turned to the pilates mat to help correct the abdominal weakness at the heart of his debilitating back problems last year.

After a nightmare injury run, the Blues' spearhead resisted the temptation to shoulder only light pre-season duties this summer, saying his training load had been "full-on" since day one.
 
The secret to his recovery, Waite said, was twice-weekly pilates sessions to strengthen the core muscles which hampered his return from a disc problem last year.
 
"My core wasn't the strongest (and it) basically put a lot of force through my back and then it just sort of gave up," Waite told the Herald Sun.
 
"It was very disappointing because I've had a frustrating few years with the hips and it will be good to get through a season without any issues.

 
"Obviously a lot of rehab and pilates keeps my core strong which in turn helps my back out.
 It (pilates) is going well and it's something that I enjoy doing."
 
The 29-year-old "squashed the disc" in his spine, sidelining him between Rounds 8 and 18, as his club's season hit the skids under Brett Ratten last year.
 
But the tables appear to have turned over summer as the strong-marking forward approaches the 2013 campaign in prime physical condition, after completing his first full pre-Christmas training schedule in about five years.
 
"It's been full-on since day one and I've handled it really well," he said.
 
"I think that's when you get yourself into trouble - if you only go half-paced during training - but so far it's going really well, and I just can't wait for the season to start.
 
"Obviously the last few years have been very frustrating because I know I have a lot to offer for the team and when you are on the sidelines you are useless."
 
Waite said the Blues had a bevy of tall forwards to choose from this year, with cancer sufferer Sam Rowe, emerging marking target Levi Casboult and up-and-comer Luke Mitchell pressing for Round 1 selection.
 
Waite, a 154-game veteran, said new coach Mick Malthouse had adopted a hard-line defensive mantra with the forwards this year.
 
It could mean Carlton employs some of the forward line press tactics which Malthouse used to steer Collingwood to the 2010 premiership.
 
"He (Malthouse) is all about the defence at the moment," Waite said.
 
"He's saying if you can't defend in the forward line, you are going to really find it hard to get a spot.
 
"We've always been pretty good (pressuring inside-50m) with (small forwards) Eddie (Betts) and Jeff (Garlett), they always make backlines a bit nervous.
 
"It's the midfielders and the tall forwards who probably have to lift their game a little bit.
 
"But we have full confidence we are all going to pull our weight and it will be good."

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AFL players facing perils of addiction

Addiction counsellor Robert Mittiga says there are AFL players out there who are "very sick". Picture: Matt Turner Source: The Advertiser

THE AFL has been urged to make a full psychological assessment as soon as a player tests positive for illicit drugs - or face the spectre of losing one of its own to the perils of addiction.

One of the country's leading addiction counsellors, Adelaide's Robert Mittiga, voiced his concerns to The Advertiser ahead of the AFL drugs summit in Melbourne, beginning today, where the club's powerbrokers will debate the issue.

Most clubs are expected to support the expert's stance, with Collingwood president Eddie McGuire yesterday telling Melbourne radio: "At the moment we don't get any of that information so we're shuffling around in the dark."

Mittiga, who successfully treated former Crows captain Simon Goodwin and ex-Demon Daniel Ward for gambling problems, regularly has players referred to him by the AFL Players' Association for treatment of gambling and drug addiction.

He warned some players were at grave risk if their problems were not thoroughly dealt with as early as possible.

"There are some players out there who are very sick - who are destroying themselves."

Mittiga was heartened by the game tackling the issue, but worried about the rules in place, which only informs the club's doctors of the first and second strikes and have coaches, teammates and the family of players unaware of a potentially life-threatening condition affecting a player.

"The reality of it is this: sometimes, by the time there's a third strike, it might be too late," Mittiga warned.

"We might have somebody who has a problem that actually has to be addressed."

Ten per cent of the population is going to be pre-disposed to addiction

Mittiga's recommendations comes as chief executive Andrew Demetriou said he is expecting a spike in positive tests when the next batch is collated.

Among Mittiga's recommendations are:

THAT a players' identity remains protected after the first strike, but that a psychological assessment is undertaken immediately by professionals trained in addiction

THAT those close to the player are notified after the first strike, so that a support network can be formed that include the players' family, coaches and support staff at the club - a miniature version of an intervention

THAT players are tested for a pre-dispositions to addiction early in their careers, before the club prescribes any legal - but still potentially addictive - medication. It is estimated 10 per cent of the population are have a gene that makes them particularly susceptive to addiction.

"If I was running a football club and one of these guys have a problem, I'd want to know immediately," Mittiga said.

"So that I could at least address the player, get him properly assessed and deal with it - rather than let it to go.

"You've got to look at this in perspective. These are young people, in their partying days and at times they use drugs.

"Ten per cent of the population is going to be pre-disposed to addiction.

"As a football club, as an industry that's right out there in the public eye, they need to know these things and intervene before it gets out of hand.

"And family, in particular - they need to know.

"I wouldn't just rely on club doctors - I would bring in experts.

But Mittiga dismissed of banning players after the first strike, likening that scenario to not allowing diabetics to play the game.

His advice was treatment when required, discipline when that was in order.

"But we remember these are young, emotionally immature people," Mittiga said. "And often what I see is their whole self value comes out of football.

"Some of them are vulnerable to these problems."

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Ice a hot item for pressured players

Former Eagles and Richmond star Ben Cousins leaving Perth Magistrates Court last year after facing drug possession charges. Picture: Richard Polden Source: PerthNow

ADDICTIVE crystal methamphetamine - commonly known as ice - has become the illicit drug of choice for AFL players.

A former top player, who still has links to the game, said the use of ice among footballers had escalated since the start of last year.

Police sources said big-name footballers periodically came to their attention during drug investigations.

In those cases, one officer said, their names turned up when investigators monitored dealers.

Detectives said in most cases dealers in contact with players trafficked ecstasy, amphetamines or cocaine.

Ice sells for $600-$700 a gram, but is sold in smaller quantities for $50-$100.

The former player, who did not want to be identified, said he knew at least five players at one club who used the drug.

He said he was also aware of ice users at other clubs.

"The whole thing is pretty big out there and it's just going to get worse," the former player said yesterday.

"Cocaine is still around, but ice has taken over big time.

"There's no doubt all the clubs are doing it, but whether there's one there or four there, I don't know.

"We've seen what happened with Ben Cousins, and while these boys think they are flushing it out of their system because they're fit and training, they have to be careful in the long term."

The former player said the pressures on players to meet skin fold tests when they returned for pre-season had made ice an attractive but potentially deadly alternative to alcohol, particularly beer, which can cause weight increase and hunger.

He said ice was readily available.

"It's been around for a long time time, but it seems to have made a resurgence," he said.

"After a big night on the grog, players would have to run 10km to burn off that night. There's a lot of pressures on the players and they'll take drugs that won't make them eat."

Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association executive officer Sam Biondo said alcohol was the most significant factor in the country.

Biondo urged the AFL to have a comprehensive alcohol and drug policy.

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