Essendon drugs saga tops the list of biggest AFL scandals in the 21st century
FROM the Essendon supplements scandal to Ben Cousins, salary cap cheating to Fev, these are the biggest stories to have shocked the AFL world in the 21st century.
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IT’S the ultimate tribute to 21st century footy.
Herald Sun football reporters Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane have worked through every jaw-dropping, fist-pumping moment of the past 17 seasons — from 2001 to 2017.
WOW: COACH DEPARTURES THAT SHOCKED US ALL
17 IN 17: THE BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES OF THE PAST 17 YEARS
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BAD BLOOD: FOOTY’S BIGGEST FEUDS
Today, they look at the scandals that rocked the footy world.
Stay tuned throughout the week as Ralphy and Macca rate the grand finals, dud deals and more — including their ultimate starting 22.
FOOTY’S BIGGEST SCANDALS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
1. ESSENDON & ASADA
James Hird “shocked to be sitting here”, Stephen Dank’s picket fence, “Sarah’s” Triple M interview, AOD-9604, “The Weapon, “Say that Again”.
Doorstops at James Hird’s house, “comfortable satisfaction”, David Evans’ breakdown, Essendon booted from the finals, the WADA appeal.
“Links in the chain”, peptides, Demetriou will “go to my grave” knowing Hird isn’t paid, Richard Ings’ expertise, Tania Hird’s 7.30 interview.
“Bomber” Middleton’s Federal Court ruling, Ben McDevitt marching into town, Mark Thompson’s Crichton Medal speech, Peter Harcourt’s Zurich presentation.
No matter what you remember of the saga that ran from February 2013 to late 2016, we will never see another story like it.
2. BEN COUSINS AND THE FALL OF THE EAGLES
They were the rock stars of the AFL at a time when Perth’s mining boom intersected with the city’s bikie culture and illicit drugs boom.
By the time the dust settled in West Coast’s drug saga Ben Cousins was a wreck, Chris Mainwaring was dead, Chad Fletcher had flatlined in Vegas.
And a long list of young players like Aaron Edwards and Ben Sharp had been part of the collateral damage.
Cousins is currently in jail on drug charges, Daniel Kerr has spent time in prison and many believe the club’s 2006 premiership is tainted as a result.
3. CARLTON SALARY CAP CHEATING
It was a late-night bombshell, a massive penalty in the small hours of the morning before the 2002 draft that would set the club back a decade.
Already warned for salary cap cheating, the Blues were found guilty of “deliberate, elaborate and sophisticated” salary cap breaches — a whopping $1.37 million paid over the limit.
About to pluck stars Brendon Goddard and Daniel Wells, new coach Denis Pagan was left with the dregs of the draft.
The irony is that Stephen Silvagni, one of four players at the centre of “under the table” payments, is now rebuilding the club again.
4. TRAVIS TUCK’S THIRD ILLICIT DRUG STRIKE
The son of footy great Michael Tuck achieved the impossible — a third drugs strike — when he was found slumped unconscious in his car after overdosing on illicit drugs.
His suspension was just one element of a decade of drama over the contentious policy, which saw the AFL going to court to protect the anonymity of players
For so long the AFL seemed desperate not to know the true extent of the problems given loopholes that made it so hard to test positive three times.
It meant any player with a hint of ratbag and a mysterious three-week hamstring was unfairly subjected to scrutiny.
Eventually we saw the introduction of hair testing and a two-strikes policy.
Jake Carlisle was silly enough to be captured taking drugs on video, but only received a drug strike when he volunteered to accept one. Go figure.
5. MELBOURNE TANKING SAGA
Andrew Demetriou put his head into the sand for a decade, denying the existence of tanking despite evidence to the contrary and a big carrot — the priority pick.
Then out of nowhere former Melbourne player Brock McLean dropped a casual line about tanking in a TV interview and the hunt was on.
After months of hostile interviews — threatening coaches and officials with their livelihoods if they didn’t spill the beans — a key meeting in a room dubbed “the vault” emerged and Gillon McLachlan forced key figures into deals.
In February 2013 after a heavily negotiated settlement, Melbourne was fined $500,000 but found not guilty of tanking.
Coach Dean Bailey and footy manager Chris Connolly were banned for acting in a manner “prejudicial to the integrity of the game”.
Bailey went to his grave protesting his innocence, while Connolly at recently as last week maintained he did nothing wrong.
6. THE KURT TIPPETT AFFAIR
Adelaide was so desperate to retain rising star Tippett it inserted a clause into a 2009 contract allowing him to be traded in 2012 for a second-round pick.
Tippett was fined $50,000 and suspended for half of 2013 while Crows chief executive Steven Trigg and underlings John Reid and Phil Harper were also banned.
The club was fined $300,000 and stripped of its first two picks in the 2013 drafts, in addition to two first-round picks it had already handed back in the 2012 draft.
Tippett was bound for Sydney before the scandal broke, with the Swans prepared to hand over a first-round pick and Jesse White.
Eventually they got him for nothing — and Tippett turned into a disappointment anyway.
7. THE ERA OF THE DRUG CHEAT
From its lofty perch on the moral high ground, the AFL always said Justin Charles’ 1997 drug ban was a naive mistake which wouldn’t be repeated.
As it turned out, it happened time and again, even if those who transgressed professed to have excuses.
Ahmed Saad tested positive after a banned substance in an energy drink, Ryan Crowley took methadone for a back injury. And Lachie Keeffe and Josh Thomas took illicit drugs laced with clenbuterol.
The testing was more rigorous and more targeted, but combined with Essendon’s ASADA issues, that moral high ground has been bulldozed rather than slowly eroded.
8. BRENDAN FEVOLA’S FALL FROM GRACE
Fevola played 204 games and kicked 623 goals and yet given the circus around his career, he might have kicked so many more.
Already battling a gambling addiction at Carlton, he was traded in 2009 in the wake of the Brownlow Medal controversy where he disgraced himself while blind drunk, fined $10,000 by the AFL into the bargain.
Traded to Brisbane for Lachie Henderson and pick 12, he would play just 17 games and kick 48 goals for the Lions.
Hospitalised after a New Year’s Eve incident in 2010, he spent 60 days in rehab for, in his own words, “drinking, gambling and depression”.
Despite highs and lows — an affair with Lara Bingle, repeated off-field issues — he has bounced back to become a prominent media personality.
9. THE ST KILDA SCHOOLGIRL SCANDAL
“St Kilda schoolgirl” Kim Duthie published nude photos of St Kilda players after accessing them from the computer of their teammate Sam Gilbert.
By the time the dust settled, senior players Nick Riewoldt and Nick Dal Santo had been severely embarrassed by the 2010 episode, with court action taken to stop the publication of further photos.
Then came the bombshell — Riewoldt’s manager Ricky Nixon had been embroiled in relationship with Duthie as he dealt with the fallout of the previous controversy.
He conceded “inappropriate dealings”, she alleged a cocaine-fuelled sexual relationship, with the pioneering player agent losing his accreditation amid a downward spiral.
10. THE LACHIE WHITFIELD SAGA
GWS midfielder Lachie Whitfield was so petrified of illicit drug testing he dodged a non-existent test and was banned by the AFL as a result.
The men who encouraged him to hide away were highly-regarded Giants officials Graeme Allan and Craig Lambert.
They would end up banned for the 2017 season, Allan after he had already accepted a highly-paid job at Collingwood.
ASADA had a look at Whitfield’s indiscretion, with the league eventually suspending him for eight matches under rules governing unbecoming conduct.
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