Essendon drug scandal: Port Adelaide to ask for compensation if players are suspended

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Port Adelaide will push for compensation should they lose two of their key players to anti-doping suspensions as a result of the Essendon drugs program of 2012.

Club chief Keith Thomas confirmed to Fairfax Media that his club would not simply accept losing the services of both Angus Monfries and Paddy Ryder as the club launches its 2015 campaign.

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas: "We will wait for the outcome but in the worse-case scenario we would look at applying to the AFL for compensation by potentially upgrading a rookie."Credit: David Mariuz

Stressing he remained hopeful if not confident his players would be cleared by the AFL's anti-doping tribunal on Tuesday, Thomas said the Power would at the very least push for clearance to promote a player from their rookie list.

"We would argue certainly where Angus is concerned that we had no knowledge of what he had potentially been through when we recruited him at the end of 2012," Thomas said. "With Paddy we knew what we were getting and we were prepared to take the risk. But no one had knowledge of the situation two years earlier.

"We will wait for the outcome but in the worse-case scenario we would look at applying to the AFL for compensation by potentially upgrading a rookie."

Monfries and Ryder, who last year rejected suggestions by Port that they seek independent legal representation, have chosen to remain in Adelaide for the findings of the AFL anti-doping tribunal. Although the club offered to fly them to Melbourne to join their former Essendon team-mates, the pair will be together at Port's Alberton headquarters with club football boss Chris Davies.

The Port Adelaide compensation push is expected to raise legal issues of personal liability also related to the trading of players harbouring injuries or illegal drug strikes. It is understood that Collingwood will also look to the AFL to seek a more systematic approach in the wake of future anti-doping suspensions.

Changes to the World Anti-Doping code passed by the AFL Commission last week handed the league more leverage on Monday in managing the Collingwood positive drug tests. That leverage empowered the AFL to reveal the status and timing of the positive drug tests of Lachlan Keefe and Josh Thomas.

However, should the Collingwood players, who like Ryan Crowley have engaged independent lawyers, choose to fight the charges, that could delay the Magpies' move to promote replacement players onto their senior list.