GOLD Coast Suns player and former Pinjarra footballer Harley Bennell’s immediate playing career is in jeopardy after photographs emerged today appearing to show him with illicit drugs.
The photos show Bennell in front of five lines of a white powder, allegedly speed, and were reportedly taken in a Tasmanian hotel room in 2013 ahead of the Suns round one fixture.
Bennell will not take to the field this weekend with the Gold Coast Suns saying its priority was Bennell's wellbeing in a statement today.
“Our priority overnight and throughout the morning is the genuine concern for Harley and his welfare,” the statement read.
“We can't underestimate the toll the last 12 hours could, and has had, on his wellbeing. That will remain our absolute focus at this time.”
Since being drafted with the second selection in the 2010 it has been a bumpy road for Bennell.
He was fined $3000 and given a spent conviction over a New Year’s Eve 2013 brawl of between 50 to 60 people in Mandurah
At the time Bennell’s lawyer argued his client was defending his younger brother after a man was “shaping up” to fight him.
Earlier this year he was dropped from the Suns for breaking club rules about drinking alcohol.
The photographs release couldn’t have come at worse time for the Gold Coast Suns after former player Karmichael Hunt named several of his former team-mates as cocaine users following a Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission investigation.
It is reported that Bennell is one of the 12 players Hunt named used cocaine at a party in August last year.
In statement, AFL Chief Executive, Gill McLachlan reiterated his statements in March that the AFL needed to review its Illicit Drugs Policy.
“I said at the time that the research we had suggested our policy was not working and it should be changed,” he said.
“But today, we need to focus on the player who is on the front page of the paper and who needs the support of our industry. His welfare is our major concern today.
“We can’t say that we care about making a difference to players lives and turn away when there is pressure.”