Vic Police ‘assessing information’ as Gawn responds to ‘shocking’ teammate claims

Melbourne skipper Max Gawn has downplayed concerns around the club’s culture in light of new accusations against Joel Smith, but admitted he would “struggle” to answer queries about his maligned teammate.

The scrutinised Demon’s anti-doping case took a major twist on Tuesday evening, with the forward now accused of “trafficking” cocaine, as well as having the drug in his possession a year before his positive test.

The saga has now caught the attention of Victoria Police, who issued a statement on Wednesday confirming they were investigating the matter.

The only place to watch every game of the AFL Pre-Season live is Fox Footy, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >

“Victoria Police is aware of a number of allegations of drug trafficking in relation to a 27-year-old Hillside man,” the statement read.

“We are currently assessing information provided by Sporting Integrity Australia and as such it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

Smith was already facing a two-year suspension after an incident following the Round 23, 2023 match against Hawthorn, when a routine post-game urine sample found a small amount of cocaine in his system.

The AFL confirmed the 27-year-old has been notified of three Anti-Doping Rule Violations made against him for “Trafficking or Attempted Trafficking of cocaine to third parties”, plus an ADRV for alleged possession of a prohibited substance on September 9 2022 – the day of Melbourne’s semi-final loss to Brisbane.

The Herald Sun also reported Smith had sent text messages to Demons teammates offering them quantities of cocaine.

 “I’m going to struggle to answer a lot of the Joel stuff,” started Gawn.

“There is an investigation, I haven’t read a lot of it, it obviously is quite shocking.”

Quizzed further on the prospect of a drug culture at the Dees, Gawn assured he has not been informed of any such issue.

“All I can say is for 16 years I’ve been getting drug-tested (and) for 10 years I’ve been getting hair-tested … In (those) 10 years I’ve never been told our club has a drug problem or culture,” Gawn declared.

“Until I get told that we have an issue or I see it with my own eyes, I can only go off face value … I’m incredibly bullish that we’ve got the right culture.

“I’m not hiding, there (are) issues (that arise), and there will be issues every year whether you guys write about it or not.”

Gawn also confirmed he remains in contact and will soon speak with Smith, whose current Melbourne contract expires at the conclusion of this season.

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon meanwhile declared “it is disappointing” to learn of the violations made against Smith.

Addressing the media’s concerns on Tuesday morning, Dillon expressed his disappointment at hearing an AFL player had breached regulations, but maintained he “can’t go into detail” regarding the specifics of the inquiry into Smith’s actions.

“We’re in the middle of a process here and assertions have been made, so I can’t really go into detail, but what I can say is it is disappointing when there’s any breach of an AFL rule regulation or an anti-doping code, or any assertion,” said Dillon on Wednesday morning.

“I think what we have here, and without going into the specifics, is there [are] assertions that have been made in relation to a breach of the anti-doping code, but that’s one player, and I think it would be premature to say anything more than that.”

Dillon confirmed the investigation into Smith is being led by Sports Integrity Australia, going on to declare it is “not a call for the AFL”.

“The investigation has been conducted by Sports Integrity Australia, led very well by David Sharp, a former Australian federal policeman,” Dillon continued.

“The investigation is led by them and the information that they have, it’s up to them as to what they do with that. It’s not a call for the AFL.

“It’s up to them to decide who they pass it onto and under the anti-doping code, they provide us, the AFL, with certain information. What they do with that is their call, under their legislation.”

Grilled on the efficiency of the league’s drug prevention policy, Dillon maintained “it is working”, referencing its success with past players who righted their previous wrongs.

“The use of illicit drugs is a societal issue and we don’t shy away from that,” Dillon said.

“We’ll continue to educate, I think we were one of the first sports in the country to bring in an illicit drugs policy and [we’ve had] many players over that nearly 20 years that it’s been in place who’ve changed behaviours because of that, so, in that instance, it is working.

“It is under review at the moment, and we will continue to make sure that our illicit drugs policy is at the forefront based on the best medical and wellbeing advice that we can get.”

Questioned on the topical subject of Melbourne’s club culture, Dillon lauded the Demons’ “great leadership” under chief executive Gary Pert and skipper Max Gawn.

“I think that they have a great leadership, they’ve got a great list, but they do have things to work on, they are a very experienced club led by a very experienced CEO (Pert) and a great captain (Gawn).”