Auld tackles drug issue front on

Gold Coast Suns CEO Travis Auld was part of a special AFL committee at this week's drug summit. Picture: David Clark Source: Gold Coast Bulletin

TRAVIS Auld strode into Wednesday's summit determined to get a spot on the frontline of the AFL's war on drugs.

Ever since he arrived on the Gold Coast as the CEO of the AFL's 17th side, Auld had heard the horror stories warning him of the dangers lurking in the shadowy corners of Surfer's Paradise.

The club's location on the outskirts of Sin City, coupled with the fact the side was predominantly filled with teenaged draftees, was supposed to mean the Suns faced unique cultural risks.

That myth was one of many shattered during the summit when one expert presented data that showed Queensland fell well behind Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales in the availability of drugs and recorded drug related crimes.

But just because his players weren't likely to slip over on a bag of pills every time they ventured out at night, does not mean the risks aren't there.

"I don't have heightened concerns about our players, but I am a realist," Auld said. "I know what goes on in society and I am aware they are exposed to the same temptations as other 18 to 29-year-olds."

Auld was in the room during last year's draft on the Gold Coast when Collingwood chief executive Gary Pert called for a summit with an impassioned plea that something had to be done about the "serious issue" of drugs.

If the most powerful club in football felt powerless against the threat of drugs, what hope did the newbies have?

Auld got his wish when he was appointed alongside big guns Pert, Ian Robson (Essendon), the AFLPA and drug experts on the special AFL committee that was formed to tackle the issue and propose changes to the league's existing Illicit Drugs Policy.

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And he supports proposals to reveal to clubs the identity of players who record positive strikes and is all for tightening the regulations around the self reporting loophole to eradicate the risk of abuse by players.

"Clubs are a lot more sophisticated than they were when this policy was introduced and are best placed in terms of understanding players, the pressures they face and the needs they may have," Auld said.

Auld is also determined to explore an idea that by reducing the commitments clubs place on their players, and shortening their pre-seasons, they may ease the desperation with which some players attack their rare nights out.

Another myth is that footballers were drawn to party drugs because they do not affect skinfolds like alcohol consumption does and there is less of a hangover effect.

The data presented revealed that in 97 per cent of positive tests under the AFL's illicit drug policy the players had been drinking heavily.

The AFL, the clubs and the AFL Players Association did their best to present a united front after the nine-hour talkfest, but there remains one key battleground -- when and how much information clubs receive about their players' drug use.

The players demand confidentiality and the AFL's medicos remain firmly behind them because they do not trust football managers and coaches.

Footy managers could wash their hands of a problem by trading out players with a strike beside their name, while coaches could take the information with them if they switched clubs.
 

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