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News.com.au
5 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Former AFL player reportedly tested positive to performance enhancing substance
A former AFL player reportedly tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance while playing in a lower-level competition following the end of his professional career. The player, who finished his AFL career in 2023, has this year been placed under provisional suspension, per Code Sports. It's understood the player tested positive while playing in a lower-level league last year, and despite having put an end to his professional career by that stage, could still be tested under the AFL's Anti-Doping Code within 12 months of his AFL exit. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. The report elected not to name the player in question. The player's test was undertaken by Sport Integrity Australia; the governing body, formerly known as ASADA, which aims to preserve fairness at all levels of Australian sport. Under the AFL Anti-Doping Code, if a player intentionally takes a prohibited substance to gain an advantage, they are subject to a maximum ban of four years. Local leagues, including the state competitions, are held to the same rules. In late 2024, ex-Melbourne player Joel Smith was suspended four years by SIA for cocaine use and trafficking after turning up a positive result on a matchday test in August 2023. But unlike Smith's circumstances, Niall reports the unnamed player in question's alleged breach was 'for a substance that is banned both in and outside the competition'. He noted also that positive results for performance-enhancing drugs were 'extremely rare' in the AFL, as cases of positive tests for illicit substances are more common. Then-Collingwood players Josh Thomas and Lachie Keeffe copped two-year bans in 2015 after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The 'Essendon 34' that were banned for the 2016 season after four years' worth of investigation did not return positive tests for a banned substance but rather were suspended on circumstantial evidence they were administered with a banned substance.
Irish Daily Mirror
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Emerging Tyrone star leaving AFL door ajar amid interest from down under
Tyrone starlet Eoin McElholm has said that he remains open to trying his hand at Australian rules amid interest from down under. McElholm starred as Tyrone retained the Dalata Hotel Group All-Ireland under-20 title last month and was named Footballer of the Year for the competition today, while he has also been featuring regularly for the senior side this season, largely off the bench. The 19-year-old was on trial with AFL club Fremantle Dockers last year and while contact has cooled somewhat in the meantime, he's not closing any doors. He said: 'If the opportunity came, I'd definitely look into it, because I was out twice and really enjoyed it out there. Really enjoyed the whole experience. 'But just for the meantime, the focus is on Tyrone and what happens there.' He added: 'They give me a few balls actually saying, 'Just do as much skills work as you can with them'. But that was probably more closer to when I went out last year. I was practising a lot with it. 'If I'd seen it at the house, I'd probably bate it about for a while. But no, that's nothing I'm focused on.' His fellow countyman Conor McKenna, an All-Ireland winner in 2021, joined an elite group of Irish players to have won an AFL Premiership last year as Essendon went all the way and there has been contact between the two. 'Just when I was out last year, he was texting me, saying enjoy the whole experience and gave me a few tips. Maybe if the opportunity does arise to let him know, he'll give me a few tips and stuff. But no, he was just basically keeping me right.' With Tyrone having won three of the last four All-Ireland under-20 titles, a bright future beckons for them at senior level, something that would be difficult for the youngster to leave behind. 'Yeah, it definitely would. It wouldn't be a straightforward decision. I'd obviously have to think about it and stuff. 'But no, I just really enjoyed the opportunity and obviously if things weren't going well you're always a flight away from home.' In the meantime, Tyrone have a crunch All-Ireland series Group 1 tie with Cavan on Sunday at Brewster Park, where they need a result to progress to the knockout stages, while a win could potentially see them straight through to a quarter-final. Tyrone haven't lost to Cavan in the Championship since 1983 and have already inflicted a seven-point defeat on them in this year's Ulster Championship. McElholm added: 'They're going to be so up for it. It's just that they're not going to want the same result as what happened that day in Healy Park. 'They're just going to do everything in their power to make it as close as possible. They're going to do whatever they can to get over the line. 'So it is psychologically difficult. You have to prepare for the game the way you prepared for them in the championship. I think we're all looking forward to it. There's a good buzz around.'
