AFL Players Assoc CEO Matt Finnis, Collingwood CEO Gary Pert , AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou and Dr Peter Harcourt. Picture: Mike Keating Source: Herald Sun
COLLINGWOOD has enforced a hard-line approach to drugs, telling its players it will not tolerate them using illicit substances.
It is understood the entire playing list was recently told that they would face serious ramifications - possibly even the sack - if they failed to maintain the standards and culture of the club.
The Herald Sun can reveal that Magpies president Eddie McGuire and chief executive Gary Pert met with the playing list before Christmas to stress this point.
Pert, who late last year described the drugs issue as the most serious challenge facing AFL football, was yesterday reluctant to discuss the specifics of the meeting.
But he confirmed that Collingwood's players had never been more clear about the club's views surrounding the issue of illicit drugs.
"I don't want to go into specifics, but it is fair to say that the club is always talking to its players as part of the educational program," Pert said."I think, as a result of this exercise, the Collingwood Football Club has, and all clubs as a whole have, conversations with the players.
"They are very clear about the position of the board and the executive on this issue and what our standards are, and that has been made very clear to them."
The Herald Sun revealed on Tuesday that a group of Collingwood players - understood to be four - self-reported their drug taking to AFL medical officers late last season which avoided positive drug strikes.
Pert said it was frustrating that Collingwood had been publicly linked to the drugs debate as he believed it was a code and community issue, but he does not regret raising the drugs issue at the AFL CEOs meeting on the Gold Coast last November.
That spawned into yesterday's AFL drugs summit, and Pert will act as one of three AFL CEOs on the working panel to monitor and potentially change the AFL's illicit-drugs policy.
Pert said he supported AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou's comments yesterday that clubs could possibly fund the cost of more testing of AFL players.
It would cost each AFL club $10,000 per season to double the number of drug tests each season.
"If Collingwood deemed it appropriate for further target testing in the best interests of the player or players, we wouldn't let the cost get in the way of doing something that we believe is the right thing to do and in the best interest of the players," he said.
"Today was a really positive step for the industry and it was certainly appreciated by all the CEOs from all of the clubs.
"There's no doubt that by the end of the day that as a result of the discussion, the debate and the expert presentations that the industry leaders from the clubs, the Players Association and the AFL now have a level of knowledge that I don't think they have ever had before."
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