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St Kilda’s pre-season from hell has moved offshore with four players suspended, fined and counselled following the misuse of prescribed medication and use of alcohol during a recent training camp in New Zealand.
Zac Dawson, Rhys Stanley, Paul Cahill and Jack Steven will all be suspended for six weeks and receive the maximum fine allowable under the AFL players code of conduct.
The club did not elaborate whether the matter related to one incident, saying in a statement: “four players breached team behavioural standards, including the use of alcohol, misuse of prescribed medication and leaving the team hotel against a player established policy.”
The incident follows a horror offseason for the club which was embroiled in a nude photo controversy.
In the photos, which were distributed on Facebook and Twitter, club captain Nick Riewoldt was pictured nude and team-mates Dawson and Nick Dal Santo partially naked.
A teenage girl had published the photos and caused a major stir in the media and with the club before the Saints reached a settlement with her.
Dawson was also banned from driving for a month last year.
That all came off the back of a frustrating end to the 2010 season for the Saints, who drew with Collingwood in the AFL grand final but went on to lose the replay convincingly.
The New Zealand camp, held in the rugged South Island, was intended to push the players out of their comfort zone in the lead-up to the 2011 season.
They arrived back in Australia on Saturday.
The statement said all four players met with the club’s leadership group and key senior players along with coach Ross Lyon and chief executive Michael Nettlefold.
During the suspension the players will be allowed to train with VFL affiliate Sandringham as well as being” required to find full time employment for the duration of their suspension” and “participate in relevant community programs in the City of Frankston area.”
An AFL spokesperson said the club would be handing it a full report on the incident.
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