Draft prospects who test positive to illicit drugs under the Australian Football League's widened testing program "will not carry any strikes into their senior careers," according to Emma Quayle of THE AGE. While teenagers who return positive hair or urine tests "will be target tested from their first year in the system, they will not start out at immediate risk of suspension." Recruiters "will not be told of any draftees' testing results, with their club's doctor to be informed after the draft so that the player can be appropriately counselled." The AFL "has always conducted drug testing on prospective recruits but
will ramp up the testing at the October draft combine and state
screening sessions." Recruiters "were also told during a meeting on Wednesday the league is
looking at the potential to create club-based academies for Indigenous
and multicultural prospects." The academies "would be run by the clubs,
who would have access to certain zones across the country as part of the
embryonic idea." Some clubs believe that "the academies for Indigenous and multicultural
prospects could be introduced as soon as next season, but the logistics
are still being discussed." The AFL "has still not confirmed a date for this year's draft" (THE AGE, 7/29).
