West Coast's 2006 AFL flag tarnished: Hall

Yep. There are two separate issues here. One is the recreational drug culture in some of the clubs some of the time, which is a social (and occasionally, a criminal issue). The other is the WADA issue of performance enhancing drugs. And for some of the drugs at least, they're only banned on the day of competition because there's no carry-over. For other drugs, like the ones Essendon and Cronulla got nailed for, they're banned at any time, in or out of competition. Important to make the distinction.

And of course there would also have been a high probability that at least some of the 2006 Sydney Swans players had dabbled in illicit recreational drugs If what happened at Eagles tarnishes their premiership then it is probably fair to say that just about every flag in the last 20 years is tarnished. Dale Lewis's claim in 2002 that 75% of AFL players had used illicit drugs was probably over the top - but the point he was making was valid. - the use of illicit recreational drugs was (and almost certainly still is) widespread in the AFL.. .

has everyone forgotten about a few articles that were about the sydney swans a few years ago quote "Drugs rife in AFL claims former st kilda sydney swans Hawthorn player "Peter spida Everett" or this one "Josh kennedy says sydney swans not thinking of Michael Talia drugs charges " be very cafeful opening up a can of worms it might come back and bite you on the backside Barry Hall

Joe - I don't see how you can say I'm hurling mud. I don't know what the post game testing process is so I've got no idea whether everyone is usually tested or not. I only know that having c oke in your system is only a violation if it's on the day of the match, and whatever the players might have been up to a week earlier doesn't matter at all. Just what happened on match day. If they were tested and were clean, then the win is valid.

No, I'm not implying anything at all. I'm saying that it's not a WADA offence to have the drug in your system unless it's on game day. So, they could have been drugged to the gills a week earlier, and while that's an AFL offence, it's not a WADA offence. If they were tested after the game and were clean, then that's the end of it and there's no taint. If they weren't tested, sure, there'd be a question mark. But I see from the other article that they were tested, so to my mind. end of story. They were clean on the day.

drug culture at a club vs. bad barry punching someone in a game, is not the same thing, it doesn't equate. neither are good, but you cant compare them - seperate issues. does barry have an agenda or axe to grind - who knows? We do know that eagles and sydney finals games produced some classic equally hard fought moments that THAT RAISED THE STANDARD OF THE GAME AND MADE EVERYONE EXCITED AND PROUD AND SATISFIED TO WATCH!

Cant beleive Barry Thug Hall has opened his trap after him carrying out the most gutless attack on another player ive ever seen while he wasnt looking mind you , then 2005 grand fina Leo Barry mark just google it and go to images and have a look at the guy holding sampi in front of eagles goals right in front of the umpire,if thats not cheating i dont know what is absolute disgrace

Here here

Brent Staker must have really upset him. As a sports issue, king hitting an opposition player rather than competing against him is much worse than taking pills in a nightclub.

Northerner appears to be implying Eagles players took coke on the day, and the AFL decided to abandon their testing practices for the 2006 GF. All in the aftermath of Wendell Sailor being banned for 2 years, a couple of months earlier, for testing positive to cocaine in a Super Rugby match.

Northerner, why would you think testing processes would differ for one team, at one particular GF? Furthermore, only a complete moron would take cocaine only a couple of months after Wendell Sailor was suspended for 2 years for testing positive in a Super Rugby game... it was BIG news. How stupid would you have to be to run the gauntlet? Seems you are just hurling mud for the sake of it.

Fair enough but it would not help you in a game of AFL. The players who used drugs would be well aware of this. They would be well aware that it would hinder their performances so they would not have chosen to do it. Why would you risk doing something illegal that would ruin your career, when the result would be that you play worse. It's just straight common sense that every player would have known. The only situation I could see it happening was with Cousins, as he was addicted. Taking ice regularly messes up your seratonin receptors, which over time, effectively gives you depression. Heavy users need to take it just to feel normal again. That's why it's such a terrible drug. People initially take it to get high, then they need to take it just to feel normal again. If cousins ever did use it for a game, it would basically be to counter act his own self inflicted depression. He would never have thought I'm going to smoke heaps of meth and play awesome today. There is no suggestion or evidence that he ever was on ice for a game, but this is the only situation where anyone would have done it.

The police tipped Nisbett off saying Eagles players were involved with drugs. Ken Judge told Nisbett that players were on drugs. Nisbett and Worsfold attacked everyone who claimed there was a drug problem at the Eagles. Said they were lying.

Or a third scenario : They didn't have hard evidence to act on. Yes, Nesbitt, Worsfold etal, should have been more diligent and aggressive in their pursuit of truth and deterring drug use... and this lesson has been learnt. It would be naive to think only a select group of players from one club ever used "party" drugs. It is quite easy to produce a narrative to suit several years after the fact.

The Eagles were not the only club who ignored the warning signs and still do. Considering how easy it was for all players including Cousin's to avoid testing look at how many players have recorded strikes including 2 strikes. It's most likely that every Premiership winner has had someone that year record a positive drug test. If that's so do you take the Dogs, Hawks or Geelong GF win away from them? Should you ban teams from the GF if they have a player found positive? There is no point in continuing bashing the Eagles for something that all teams are affected by and keep hidden.

Exactly my point, he has no credibility nor has the AFL. The AFL changed their rules to classify "In Play" to allow a punch to be in play when the ball was 50m away. They did this because they wanted a Sydney Premiership to help spead the game into NSW.

By observing their actions and behaviour you could determine there was a drug culture out of control at the club. It was the worst kept secret in the AFL. How Worsfold and Nisbett as part of the inner sanctum could be completely oblivious to it shows they have no place being in positions of responsibility at their football clubs. There are two scenarios. Either Worsfold and Nisbett condoned/encouraged/gave their blessing to the work hard play harder culture of the club. If they condoned and turned a blind eye to the drug culture, then at the very least they have failed miserably in their duty of care. If they encouraged the drug culture by supplying anything (such as the asthma medication), then it's bordering on a type of evil. One step below that of drug pushers. The other alternative is that they are two of the most naive and gullible people working in the AFL. Either way, both Nisbett and Worsfold have no business in senior positions of multi-million dollar organisations.

Actually I think Lewis still works in the media somewhere. He appeared on Open Mike a year or 2 ago and expressed that while he copped a lot of criticism at the time, he doesn't take any delight in being vindicated over his comments.

Dale was also silenced and hasn't been seen since.

West Coast did suffer from that small city/ fishbowl syndrome, everyone was a legend in their own lunchtime out on the town. there was the Gardiner motorcycle gang and local kingpin thug Kizon connections. there were several connections going on with shady characters. look at the fallout in gardiner, cousins, kerr, chick, hunter, fletcher et al. things were obviously going on and reccy drugs imbibed. but i daresay it was happening in other clubs to some degree and that it was a rising national problem back then (the ice and meth), look at the countrywide problem now!! so to say it was just isolated and permitted within the Eagles is nonsense. finally and i know this is something of a cliche, but only as much a cliche as the melbourne press. how many times do we have to go down this road, every pre-season now, the melbourne press release dirty laundry on the Eagles! its so predictable, its 11 years ago now. the club culture has been completely gutted and rebuilt, with one original player remaining in sam butler(a clean player). hope we win the flag this year just to stick it up the press!! with a clean coach, admin and players!! ((; (its another bloody victorian conspiracy!!..we should all don our tinfoil hats pre-season!!