Sydney Swans forward Tom Papley has allegedly returned a positive preliminary drug test after being pulled over by New South Wales police on Monday, adding to the off-field issues the club has faced in recent months.
NSW Police said in a statement the 30-year-old was pulled over at 10.30am while driving on Lang Road, Centennial Park in Sydney and subject to “a roadside drug test which allegedly returned a positive result for methylamphetamine”.
A secondary sample of oral fluid was taken for further analysis with the results expected to take at least four weeks.
Papley was also issued with a “court attendance notice for driving with a suspended licence due to non-payment of a parking fine,” the club said in an earlier statement.
He immediately advised the Swans of the matter and the club informed the AFL.
The matter is due to be heard in Waverley local court in Sydney on 26 November.
The small forward played 20 matches and kicked 33 goals this season before an undermanned Sydney were knocked out in a preliminary final defeat to Fremantle.
Papley’s incident is the latest off-field drama at the Swans as they face a cultural reckoning after five players were suspended for breaching the club’s standards, including drinking and bringing women back to their hotel after an AFL game in Melbourne in August.
Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey, Chad Warner, Riley Bice and James Jordon were stood down for the rest of the AFL season by the Swans.
It is understood police are treating Bice as a potential witness in a separate investigation into an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman hotel, while Heeney, Warner, Blakey and Jordon remain part of their investigation which is ongoing.
No one has been arrested or charged and the players have reportedly denied any criminal wrongdoing.
Heeney was crowned the Swans’ best and fairest player in October but was absent from the club’s function after being among the five players to serve a club-imposed suspension throughout finals.
Blakey has since left the Swans and will continue his career with North Melbourne after being the centrepiece of a high-profile trade last month.
