Melbourne’s once overflowing midfield cabinet has suddenly become disconcertingly shallow.
North Melbourne have axed Tarryn Thomas after the AFL found he had threatened a woman in direct messages multiple times,imposing an 18-match ban.
Melbourne is flying blind without any knowledge of what Joel Smith did or did not say to his teammates in his text messages,and no control of an external investigation.
Melbourne Football Club is under pressure to conduct a “deep dive” investigation into its culture after police became involved in allegations of drug trafficking against AFL player Joel Smith.
The AFL has confirmed the Demons forward is facing three doping violation allegations for the alleged trafficking,or attempted trafficking,of cocaine.
Magpies defender Brayden Maynard missed training after he was involved in what Collingwood described as a minor car crash. But his teammate Brody Mihocek did,however,make a positive return to the track.
North Melbourne midfielder Tarryn Thomas will not talk to the AFL’s integrity unit until next week after a new set of domestic violence allegations were brought to the league’s attention.
A magistrate issued a warrant for the 60-year-old’s arrest on Monday morning – but it was withdrawn on Tuesday and attributed to an “administrative error”.
Hawthorn have budgeted to pay a total of more than $2.5 million in legal fees and potential payouts in the fallout from the investigation into alleged mistreatment of First Nations players and their families.
To make the most of a special WADA carve-out for recreational drugs,Joel Smith needs the anti-doping system to move more quickly than it normally does.
Melbourne will not tolerate poor off-field behaviour from star midfielder Clayton OIiver,but they believe the incidents involving him and teammate Joel Smith are isolated and not part of a wider cultural issue among the players.