Carlton defender Lachie Cowan is set to be banned for two AFL matches, but Will Hayward will likely escape sanction after the pair ended up in hospital following a wild night out over the weekend.
7NEWS first revealed the pair required hospital treatment on Sunday morning after a party where drugs were allegedly present.
Cowan, 21, was taken to hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning after suffering a seizure at Hayward’s house in South Yarra.
Life support paramedics treated Cowan at the house before he was transported to the Alfred Hospital. He was checked and then released later on Sunday morning.
Hayward also required hospital treatment later on Sunday morning after cutting his head in the shower.
“Several stakeholders around the incident expect Cowan will be sanctioned with a two-match ban on Friday,” 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary said.
“Teammate Will Hayward was at the same party and has denied any drug use. And is preparing to be allowed to play in Carlton’s season opener in 2027.”
The players remain on leave from the club, due back for pre-season training next month.
The two-match ban given to Cowan will be consistent with recent suspensions for drug use given to Bailey Smith, Jack Ginnivan and Elijah Hollands.
Speaking on Wednesday before the suspensions became public, Carlton football boss Chris Davies said there health was the most important.
“That’s the most important thing - they’re OK now, a little bit embarrassed, I guess, to put the club in this position,” Davies said.
He also confirmed another player had been present on Saturday night, “but not in the same situation.”
Carlton confirmed on Sunday afternoon that Hayward and Cowan went to hospital, in separate circumstances.
Cowan received medical treatment and underwent observation before being discharged, while Hayward admitted himself and was stitched up after suffering a minor cut to the head.
The league revised its illicit drugs policy in March this year, with chief executive Andrew Dillon declaring the agreed changes would make it “the most stringent illicit drugs policy in Australian sport”.
Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie, who used parliamentary privilege in 2024 to allege secret testing of AFL players so they would not fail drug tests under the policy, remained skeptical after the weekend’s incidents.
“If the media reports are right, this is more evidence that the AFL haven’t yet cleaned up their act,” he said.
— With AAP