Departing Demons boss hits back at club culture furore as Joel Smith cops monster AFL ban

Departing Melbourne Demons chief executive Gary Pert has defended his comments about the culture at the AFL club, with forward Joel Smith hit with a four-year drugs ban on Friday that could end his career. Smith's fate was determined after he returned a positive test for cocaine in the wake of Melbourne's round 23 win over Hawthorn last year. Sport Integrity Australia then hit Smith with charges of trafficking or attempting to traffic cocaine to third parties.

It continues a tumultuous few years for the Demons since their breakthrough 2021 premiership, with back-to-back straight-sets exits in the finals followed by a disappointing 14th-placed finish this season. The Demons have been plagued by criticism about the culture at the club, with Smith's drug case and Clayton Oliver's off-field troubles among a number of issues Melbourne have faced.

The Demons also copped backlash for their handling of Christian Petracca's injury and the subsequent fallout that saw the disgruntled midfielder linked with an exit before he eventually confirmed his commitment to the club. Former club president Kate Roffey also stepped down in September amid an ongoing period of turbulence and Pert's departure is yet another challenge facing the Demons in this off-season.

"It is with mixed emotions that I announce that, after six years as CEO of the Melbourne Football Club, Gary Pert has decided to retire and will step down from his role," Demons president Brad Green said in a statement on Thursday. "After careful consideration of what is best for the club, his family, and his own future, Gary concluded that now is the right time to initiate the search for his successor. I want to make it absolutely clear that this decision, including its timing, is Gary's own."

Pert's exit comes amid two separate external reviews into the club’s operations, although he is set to stay on board for a few more months to assist with a handover. Speaking about his exit with The Herald Sun’s Mark Robinson, Pert defended comments he made last year about the culture at the Demons being the best he'd seen in 40 years.

“My point, that was taken out of context - I was saying we are dealing with player behaviour issues, and I don’t want the entire club being tarnished by that,” Pert told The Herald Sun. “When I made the comment, we had won more games of footy in the past three years than any other team and had recently won a premiership, and that we were doing a lot of great things. I was saying the player behaviour issues had to be dealt with in that regard and not discredit the Max Gawns, Jack Vineys... I didn’t want the whole football club being tarnished by a couple of people.”

Demons forward Joel Smith to be hit with four-year drugs ban

Pert's comments came before Smith was hit with a potentially career-ending four year suspension on Friday. Smith's camp was originally hoping for a three month suspension for cocaine use until the SIA hit him with trafficking charges after uncovering text messages where he allegedly offered small amounts of the drug to Demons teammates.

RELATED:

• Max Gawn's sad personal revelation about dramas at Melbourne Demons

• Kane Cornes calls for major AFL rule change after Collingwood 'disgrace'

• Collingwood fans called out over awful act towards Jaidyn Stephenson

Smith is not facing criminal charges and people close to the forward insist he never used cocaine before starting his AFL career. And the 28-year-old's dad and former Melbourne player Shaun Smith claimed his son was being made out to be a scapegoat over the messy situation. “It feels like my son is being manipulated into being the fall guy here, in order to protect the AFL brand,” Smith's father Shaun said in April. “He’s being made a scapegoat, and I’m really worried for him.”

It comes after Federal MP Andrew Wilkie made explosive claims to parliament in March about secret drug cover-ups in the AFL, following allegations made by Smith, former Melbourne club doctor Zeeshan Arain and ex-Demons president Glen Bartlett. Wilkie said the trio had alleged players who tested positive for illicit drugs had faked injury and withdrawn from games to avoid match-day testing by Sports Integrity Australia (SIA), and that "off-the-books" test results were never shared with authorities.

The AFL defended the policy that was created in 2005 and aimed at protecting the welfare of players. "We are unapologetic about club and AFL doctors taking the correct steps to ensure that any player who they believe has an illicit substance in their system does not take part in any AFL match and that doctor/patient confidentially is upheld and respected," AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said at the time.

"The medical interests and welfare of players is a priority for the AFL given everything we know about the risks facing young people generally and those who play our game in particular." Dillon dodged questions players being instructed to fake injuries if they tested positive for illicit substances, claiming that it fell into the category of "private medical information".

with AAP