- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The AFL Commission could approve further measures to beef up anti-doping measures in the wake of the Essendon and Australian Crime Commission revelations.
The commission will meet on Monday and one proposal certain to be on the agenda is that each AFL club be required to employ an integrity officer.
League chief executive Andrew Demetriou said last week the measure would be better for a club than employing another coach.
“That’s one of the options we’ve discussed as a commission and it’s one of the things we’ll discuss on Monday (at a commission meeting),” Demetriou said during a forum on doping in the game.
“I think it’s very important that every club think about having a full-time integrity officer – you actually want to minimise the risk.
“It’s far, far more appropriate than investing in another coach, for example, because one poor decision at a football club can have dire consequences.”
The AFL Commission held an emergency meeting on February 7, the same day the federal government released the landmark Australian Crime Commission report into sport.
That was only two days after Essendon announced they were facing a joint Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and AFL investigation for supplements their players took last year.
After the emergency commission meeting, the AFL announced they would devote more resources to their integrity unit.
The coach, president, chief executive and football manager from each club also will meet with the AFL.
Carlton president Stephen Kernahan said at the club’s family day on Sunday that their hierarchy would meet with the AFL on Tuesday and are confident they have the right anti-doping measures.
“I’d like to assure everyone … that Carlton are confident we’ve had the right governance controls in place,” Kernahan said.
“We’ve had excellent chains of command, to not have any issues with the supplements saga.”
The commission will no doubt also discuss the progress of the league’s tanking investigation into Melbourne.
Reports on Friday said the AFL could fine the Demons $500,000 and hand suspensions to Chris Connolly and Dean Bailey after the investigation into the club’s 2009 season.
The Demons have threatened legal action, but a negotiated settlement appears to be the most likely outcome.
Another item on the commission meeting agenda will be their equalisation strategy for the 18 clubs.
A luxury tax on the bigger clubs is one option.
Clubs will soon respond to the league’s request for feedback on equalisation reform, ahead of a meeting with the commission in March.
A group of the bigger clubs has suggested that the league buy Etihad Stadium immediately to help solve the competition’s structural problems.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.