Drug-accused former AFL player Ron De Iulio suffers health scare

An ex-Carlton player charged with possession of ice has been hospitalised after a “very unexpected event”, a court has heard.

Former Carlton player Ron De lulio during a game in 1998.

Former AFL footy player Ron De Iulio is recovering from a stroke, suffered just months after he was charged by police with possessing ice.

The details of the 49-year-old’s health scare were revealed as he was due to front Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday for the first time since police allegedly found him with a small amount of crystal meth and $4350 cash in June.

The ex-Carlton footballer, who played more than 100 games in the 1990s, did not dial in for the virtual hearing, with his lawyer, Zoe Davis, confirming he had suffered a stroke and was admitted to hospital on October 7.

She said Mr De Iulio, from St Kilda East, was “in a vulnerable position” after suffering the “very unexpected event” and is under doctor’s orders to keep his stress levels to a minimum.

Ron De Iulio has been charged with possessing ice.

Ms Davis said Mr De Iulio’s stroke “could have quite easily caused his death” and that he was at risk of suffering further strokes.

She said he had “lost a lot of functional mobility, lost a lot of cognitive ability”.

“The rehabilitative process from that is not short nor easy,” she said.

Ms Davis supplied the court with Mr De Iulio’s hospital discharge summary identifying the stroke had occurred on October 7 to 8.

“It’s not self-inflicted in any way, and it is directly related and can be affected by ongoing external influences of stress,” she said of his health condition.

Ms Davis asked magistrate Jason Ong to adjourn the case so it could be considered for diversion, where Mr De Iulio would admit the charges but avoid a criminal record if he promised to be of good behaviour.

She said her client had no priors, but did have another “traffic matter” before the court next month.

Mr De Iulio was charged with possessing methamphetamine and dealing in proceeds of crime, relating to the cash he was carrying, after detectives from the northwest metro regional crime squad stopped him on Swanston St in Melbourne city on June 18.

His case was adjourned to December 8.