Updated ,first published
Sydney star Tom Papley returned a positive result to a random drug test when undergoing a roadside licence check from NSW police on Monday, adding pressure to the Swans’ attempts to defend their culture amid the fallout from the Pullman scandal.
NSW Police said in a statement that he was pulled over at 10.30am while driving on Lang Road, Centennial Park and subject to “a roadside drug test which allegedly returned a positive result for methylamphetamine [and] a secondary sample of oral fluid was taken for further analysis.”
The club confirmed via an earlier statement that the 30-year-old’s licence was suspended when he was pulled over and the results of a second sample will be known in a month.
“Papley was issued with a court attendance notice for driving with a suspended licence due to non-payment of a parking fine,” the club said.
“During the roadside stop, Papley completed a random drug test which returned a positive preliminary test indication. A second sample was taken for analysis. The results from the second test are expected to take at least four weeks.
“Papley immediately advised the club regarding this matter, and the club subsequently informed the AFL.”
The matter is expected to be heard in Waverley Local Court in Sydney on November 26.
Papley’s alleged transgression could not have come at a worse time for the Swans.
The club is still dealing with the fallout of an ongoing police investigating into a reported sexual assault after Swans players engaged exotic dancers to perform in one of the players’ rooms at the Pullman Hotel after the team’s round 23 win over Essendon.
The incident saw five players – Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey, Chad Warner, Riley Bice and James Jordon – banned for the rest of the season for breaching behavioural standards set by the club, with chairman Andrew Pridham saying the Swans’ decision to suspend the five had “torpedoed” their premiership chances.
Bice is being treated as a witness by police in the separate investigation while North Melbourne handed Blakey an eight-year deal worth $12 million when he indicated he wanted to be traded post-season. The club awarded Heeney the club’s most valuable player award, but did not attend the best and fairest awards night. The players have denied any wrongdoing.
The Victoria Police investigation into the pre-dawn events of August 17 at the Pullman are ongoing, with a decision expected this month.
Papley was one of the Swans’ best players in their qualifying final win over eventual premiers, the Brisbane Lions, kicking five goals. He also performed well in the preliminary final until Fremantle overwhelmed Sydney in the final quarter.
Papley, who is contracted until the end of 2028, recently returned from a post-season trip to America where he spent time with teammates. He was to be a guest of the TAB at Flemington on Oaks Day, however he is not expected to attend.
Papley’s management was contacted for comment.
His former teammate and ex-captain Dane Rampe spoke when he retired last week after 289 matches about how the club’s players needed to have uncomfortable conversations about their culture.
“What I’ve learnt, and I guess what I’ve helped teach some of the boys, is that our culture’s built on radical transparency with each other, but then radical self-ownership as well,” Rampe said.
“The way the season finished forced us all to hold a mirror up to ourselves. I think it would be ignorant or naive of us to think that we haven’t all played a small part in getting to … where we were.”
The Swans’ AFLW team will face the Western Bulldogs in an elimination final at Henson Park on Sunday.
It has been an eventful off-season in the AFL as Carlton defender Lachie Cowan received a two-match ban and a $5000 suspended fine for conduct unbecoming after he ended up in hospital following a night of partying in mid-October. The 21-year-old described the incident as a wake-up call.
Parramatta NRL star Josh Addo-Carr allegedly tested positive to cocaine at a random police roadside test in September, but in a stunning development on Monday – just hours before he was scheduled to front club directors – police informed the veteran winger that his second test result had come back negative, meaning there would be no further action against him.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
From our partners
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.