"It’s crazy": Hinkley's main criticism with new illicit drug policy

Former AFL coaches Ken Hinkley and Adam Simpson have reacted to the AFL’s new illicit drug policy.

On Thursday, the AFL confirmed the creation of the policy alongside the AFLPA with the hopes that will create more accountability for those affected.

These changes have brought the end of the controversial three-strike model, with both AFL and AFLW players required to be hair tested every six months.

Should a player test positive, they will be placed on a Behaviour Change Program.

If they then return a consecutive positive, this will then require the creation of an individual management plan.

Should that not work, the player will then undergo a Fitness to Play assessment by an independent panel.

That will then see senior club officials such as the club President, CEO, and GM of Football, amongst other key ranking officials, informed.

One important official who is not informed through this model is the senior coach.

This is where Hinkley takes exception, believing that this exclusion is not the right call.  

“If I was being honest, I said it’s typical (of them),” Hinkley said on SEN’s Crunch Time.

“It’s crazy. The players come to the coach for everything more often than not, everything.

“And then they want one really, really important part of their lives to be kept away from the from the coach?

“I just don’t find…that’s way the coach can help.

“You would have done anything you possibly could to help any one of your players, regardless of what the issue was.

“And this is just another one of these issues that you want to support them in their life, and you want to support their changes that they need to make their life better.

“I think the coach needs to know.”

But Simpson took a different opinion.

“I’m a little bit different,” the former West Coast coach explained.

“If this is for addiction and for serious mental health issues, that’s probably the bit where it didn’t get to for me.

“I think the Doctor would come to me and say, ‘There’s an issue with so and so, he’s not available today to train. We’ve got an eye on him, everything is okay’.

“I wouldn’t intervene or wait for the player to come to me if there was any type of conversation that he wanted.”