"Wake-up call": Cowan breaks silence on illicit drugs drama

Kane Cornes says Carlton's Lachie Cowan absolutely deserves the two-match ban handed to him over a drug-related medical episode suffered last Saturday.

On Sunday afternoon, it was revealed that two Carlton players were admitted to hospital on the weekend -with life support paramedics assisting Cowan who is believed to have suffered a seizure after complications from alleged recreational drug use.

The AFL has since confirmed he will miss the first two matches of the 2027 season and has been handed a suspended $5,000 fine after being "found guilty of conduct unbecoming following an investigation into his use of an illicit substance".

“I should never have put myself in such a vulnerable situation, I want to apologise for the impact my actions have had on my family and the football club,” Cowan said on Friday.

“I also want to thank the medical professionals who helped me on the night, the football club for their ongoing support and everyone who took the time to reach out and make sure I was okay.

“This is a wake-up call and I am just so grateful to now be in a position to learn from this.”

Cowan has also been issued a 'notifiable adverse finding', or strike, under the AFL's illicit drugs policy.

The AFL also confirmed that “all players will be hair tested upon their return to training in January, with readings going as far back as three to six months prior”.

As a deterrent the sanction is not enough in Cornes' opinion.

"How about they just don’t indulge in illicit substances? he said on SEN Breakfast. "Why don’t they (the AFLPA) come out and say ‘we’re unhappy with the players conduct and will be educating others because we cannot have our players putting themselves at risk in the off-season.

"The PA wants to protect player confidentiality.

"We need the player be scared of the ramifications of taking the illicit substances.

"Their (AFLPA) priority should be to be upset with the player and use strong language. I’ve never heard the PA be critical of any player. They will defend the policy, they will say the players welfare is first and foremost. All that rubbish.

"Show me some strong leadership. Say ‘we’re unhappy that this goes on, we need our players to be better’."

Cowan is the third player in recent years to be sanctioned for illicit drug use with his ban consistent with those handed to Hawthorn's Jack Ginnivan and Geelong star Bailey Smith when they were at their former clubs in 2022-23.

"Of course he deserves it (his suspension)," Cornes continued. "I don’t know why with the policy we sometimes get a suspension, or you have to be photographed, or it (taking the substance) has to be in public.

"There is no deterrent. Going to hospital is extreme, that is a deterrent, but it should be that if you test positive there is a risk that your name is made public.

"You would still have players with their issues of course, that would be the five per cent but the rest of them are taking the you know what."

Carlton's Will Hayward also visited hospital on the Sunday morning, suffering a cut to the head that required stitches after a fall within his own home.

He is likely to be cleared in the investigation.