Royals’ Cadwallader cops record ban
Disgraced East Perth midfielder Dean Cadwallader has received a four-year playing ban after being found guilty of taking a prohibited substance for the second time in his career.
The 24-year-old was handed the record suspension following a hearing by the WAFL Anti-Doping Tribunal.
The ban will be backdated to November 28 last year.
Cadwallader returned a positive test for benzoylecgonine in a urine sample taken on WAFL grand final day last year. Benzoylecgonine is produced by a person’s body after they have digested cocaine.
The positive test was taken during last year’s grand final, with Cadwallader accumulating 18 disposals in a losing side.
He had previous been banned for two years linked to a separate failed drug test, having tested positive to an anabolic steroid in May 2010.
East Perth chief executive Dean Turner said in a statement the club had considered Cadwallader to be an enormously talented footballer.
“Like all sporting clubs, we are a part of the wider community and we experience the same issues as the broader population,” Turner said.
“The outcome of this matter seems to be a terrible waste of young talent.”
It is the third case in four seasons where an East Perth player has received a ban for failing a drug test, with former Royals player Kane Goodwin were also receiving a two-year ban.
Turner defended the club’s testing program and expressed the club’s support for the findings on Cadwallader.
“Every player from colts to league undergoes drug education before being allowed to represent the club,” Turner said.
