Surprised this hasn't been brought up yet. Anyways a big revelation up sunny coast now according to this article.

Cocaine confession: Karmichael Hunt reveals footy party boy lifestyle

This club has seriously lost the plot. A big mistake right from the very start and it was always bound to happen when you put a bunch on teenagers up on the gold coast and expect them to be robots. Their mistake also was not getting enough senior heads into their playing group like the Giants did. I respect GAJ highly but he is not a leader and never was.

Still baffled why Gold Coast got a gig before Tasmania.

A few issues here 'dazzle' but on the drug culture issue. It's a problem with society for a start and I believe is in all AFL clubs and has been for a while now.

The AFL have tried to keep the genie in the bottle and it's not happy. I hope the media don't just focus on Gold Coast but look at the issue as a whole. I doubt they will though as they have their own problems and some that will be tut tutting the Gold Coast will be involved themselves.

Cool, lets take advantage of the mess and get our filthy paws on Prestia and Bennell.

Cool, lets take advantage of the mess and get our filthy paws on Prestia and Bennell.

Be careful what you wish for 'hogan'..

Bunch of very young men, living on the gold coast who are all very well paid, it was always a risk the party scene would be a serious temptation

Cool, lets take advantage of the mess and get our filthy paws on Prestia and Bennell.

Bennell= NO

Prestia= YES

Still baffled why Gold Coast got a gig before Tasmania.

I've said this many times before but the simple reason is that NSW and Southern QLD are responsible for 60% of advertising revenue. Rugby league has a huge television audience and gets most of that money. Sth Queensland is the fastest growing area of the country (or at least was a few years back).

To generate higher broadcast rights the AFL needed more representation in Western Sydney and Southern Queensland. Hence GWS and the Suns.

ps It's not about the fans and football.

Still baffled why Gold Coast got a gig before Tasmania.

In the generational war against soccer and RL, Tasmania is behind our front lines. They're already an "Aussie Rules" state. Not much to be gained by parking a club there.

Whereas north of the border, there is potentially much to be gained, and in the worst case, a resistance movement against soccer and RL.

They're not doing this for spits and giggles. This is about where Aussie Rules will be in 50 years time. Still dominant, a niche game like lacrosse or squash, or extinct.

If you think this is only a Gold Coast issue you're fooling yourself. It's just that they have done the worst job of hiding it. There's a fair few very well known names in Victorian football circles that are rolling the dice as we speak.

Yeah, the title of this thread should be "western society drug culture", because that's what this is. The Gold Coast club have handled the situation badly, sure, but the fact is that our society as a whole has to have a sensible conversation about mind-altering drugs, because our present policies are a complete failure.

Of course every club at some point players will dabble in drugs but the issue I see GC seem to be spiralling out of control. No leadership, No respect of the club, Players drinking night before a game etc..

They are a club that's falling apart on field and off field.

At least he was shouting his lesser paid team mates.

I would suspect this issue is not just limited to the Gold Coast FC

I know nothing and have no connections to any AFL clubs but just looking at general society I would be amazed if clubs are not dealing with players toeing a very fine line

Of course every club at some point players will dabble in drugs but the issue I see GC seem to be spiralling out of control. No leadership, No respect of the club, Players drinking night before a game etc..

They are a club that's falling apart on field and off field.

They're just not hiding it as well as others. Believe me, you'd be VERY surprised at some of the stuff going on at some Victorian clubs that you would think had a good culture, and the names that are involved.

Clubs have the ability to set standards of behaviour and have excellent compliance from their players on all manner of issues. Look back to the 60's and 70's and smoking and drinking footballers were not uncommon. I think it was Brent Crosswell who had a tete a tete with Ron Barassi over his mandatory halftime smoke. Gold Coast clearly don't have inside tabs on what their players are doing off the field, but a huge part of this problem is the criminality of the substances they've taken (cocaine, as K.Hunt is spilling the beans over). They're already underground, and thus an industry of concealment already exists.

In this way, I think football clubs show something of society in general. Some people want to take drugs, then do and continue, or stop completely, or with certain drugs become casual users. No drug is exceptional to this. They will ALWAYS be available, and there will ALWAYS be a market for them. Prohibition DOES NOT work, and never will. De-criminalise all drugs, and the problem is approached in a whole new, more realistic, and constructive way. It seems a radical idea only because drugs are associated with criminality/moral breakdown, and none of us have known anything else. The idea provokes such wild reactions of horror from some that it's yet to be seriously discussed in this country. There is a very smart and growing list of people advocating for it now, so it will happen, but not for a while methinks. Most importantly, for young moneyed footballers, drugs will lose the lure of the illicit, the dangers of criminal association, and introduce an acceptance of the reality which clubs can address more openly, such as with alcohol.

In the generational war against soccer and RL, Tasmania is behind our front lines. They're already an "Aussie Rules" state. Not much to be gained by parking a club there.

Whereas north of the border, there is potentially much to be gained, and in the worst case, a resistance movement against soccer and RL.

They're not doing this for spits and giggles. This is about where Aussie Rules will be in 50 years time. Still dominant, a niche game like lacrosse or squash, or extinct.

yes but we're quickly becoming surrounded...

TV will be the death of Aussie rules, pandering to their wishes washes the sport away. & is the reason tassie isn't in the picture, or map.

TV has way too much say on footy matters.

Of course every club at some point players will dabble in drugs but the issue I see GC seem to be spiralling out of control. No leadership, No respect of the club, Players drinking night before a game etc..

They are a club that's falling apart on field and off field.

I agree dazzle. It's not just a very long injury list that's affecting the GCS's performances on the field. In fact, there is a fair chance that there is a connection between the 'culture' discussed in the article and their long injury list.

Feel for rocket, he's had a horrible start with injuries and drama up there

It sickens me to think that the Demons playing group might also be harbouring a self-serving snitch.

If anyone thinks this is only happening in GC, they're kidding themselves.

It sickens me to think that the Demons playing group might also be harbouring another self-serving snitch.

Edit: Forgot about Brock.

The Age reports that GCS players are to be re-interviewed in light of Hunt's comments.

If those lads have lied to their club they in deep, deep sh..!

Its one thing to muck up. But a whole different ball game to lie about it.

Shaw bros, Didak, Robinson and Garlett come to mind.

Collingwood retired or traded out its 'troubled' players.

GCS may well have to do the same to break up the 'cliques'.

This is happening at every football club in Australia from the AFL down... But in regards to the GC, they mad poor descions in who they bought to the club from the beginning.. Campbell Brown was always a bit of a lad, Karmichael turned out to be a bad influence, Gaz obviously you can't question his recruitment as his on field speaks for itself but his obviously not a good leader, seems like he would be the type to keep to himself. When you look at the path GWS went down and got blokes likes Ward, Mumford, Cornes, Power, Brogan, Jnr McDonald.. These are strong leaders and good people. Seems like they went down the right path and the on field and off field results prove it

It's naive to think the gcs are the only team with these issues. Sure they might be around the lights on the coast and the parties, but to think it's limited to just them is just ignorant. A few seasons back, a friend of mine from a successful opposition club invited me out, and some of the things I saw, whilst not surprising around the 18 - 25 year old demographic, for professional athletes in public during the season was incomprehensible to me. Either the afl fabricates the amount of positive tests, or there are not anywhere near as many tests as what are mentioned in the media I don't know, but that night wasn't a one off and it's astounding to think players could do it and get away with it.

I have no interest in the Gold Coast Suns other than a lingering resentment of the massive advantages handed them and a sneaky hope that we can exploit their mess. I.e. somehow prising someone like Jack Martin from them. What I do know is that they will be afforded absolute protection by Gill and his pooncey polo playing posse who have too much riding on the outcome of findings around K Hunt.