Carlton star Lachie Cowan is set to receive a two-match suspension after he was hospitalised for suffering a seizure following a house party on Saturday night.
According to Code Sports, the AFL are poised to issue the ban to 21-year-old Cowan, but Will Hayward is set to escape a sanction.
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Hayward, 27, who hosted the house party in South Yarra, was hospitalised after hitting his head in the shower.
He denied any drug use.
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Life support medics were called to assist Cowan following his seizure, with Code Sports reporting that Carlton officials are understood to be “extremely disappointed and frustrated” by the players’ behaviour.
The two-match suspension handed out to Cowan would be in keeping with the bans given to former Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith and ex-Collingwood man Jack Ginnivan for drug use.
However, the AFL Players’ Association are expected to be against the severity of the punishment due to a key difference between the Cowan case and the prior cases involving Smith and Ginnivan.
That is that photos and footage emerged of Smith and Ginnivan using drugs.
Cowan’s incident only became a public matter when he was admitted to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne following his seizure.
The Players’ Association are keen for players’ names to remain confidential in instances such as this to encourage individuals to receive emergency medical attention without fear of a scandal ensuing.
No evidence of drug use was retrieved from Cowan or Hayward.
Cowan’s punishment comes as the AFL prepare to implement a new illicit policy from next year which will use hair-testing technology to understand players’ drug use over a three-month period.
The current system, which uses urine testing, only allows the league to identify substances that have been in a player’s system for a few days.