Tainted flags aren't black and white

Football is a team game. Matches can’t be won by individuals. However, a single person can greatly influence a contest.

It is all about the one percenters in the AFL and WAFL these days. Take the smother by Daniel Chick that set up West Coast’s match-winning goal in the 2006 grand final. And before that there was Leo Barry’s game-saving mark for Sydney in the previous premiership triumph.

When it comes to close matches – and the results of both of those big AFL days in September 2005 and 2006 were less than a kick – a single act can be the difference between elation and despair.

But what about if one of those significant efforts was produced by a player who has allegedly broken the rules to play?

It has become a trend in modern sport to talk about tainted premierships. Some have even suggested records should include an asterisk against particular champions because of the doubts about the condition of some of the personnel that were prominent in the success.

Victorian-based AFL critic Robert Walls wrote in The West Australian in 2007 that the Eagles’ premiership cup from the previous year was tainted because of the drug scandals, spearheaded by Ben Cousins, which had enveloped the WA club.

The same question was posed to Swan Districts this week following the revelation premiership player Travis Casserly had registered a positive drug test arising from last year’s WAFL grand final.

Casserly was instrumental in the black-and-whites’ success because of his work in cutting the influence of dangerous Claremont midfield Ryan Brabazon.

Swans won the match by just one point.

Claremont said they won’t protest the decision.

Casserly has to go through the sports justice system. Although he has been charged he hasn’t had the chance of a hearing to launch a defence.

But should he be found guilty of using performance-enhancing substances, should Swans be stripped of their title?

There is no provision in Australian football for a team to be punished in terms of result reversal for the actions of a player. It is not part of the code’s fabric.

Yet, in some sports the whole team can be penalised if one member breaks the drug code.

Take the plethora of Olympic relay teams that have been stripped of medals because one of the group was later discovered to be a doper.

However, it is almost impossible to make the argument that Casserly’s alleged drug use was the difference between the flag and the runners-up position for Swans.

Unless the WAFL increases its drug tests to include taking samples in every round Casserly’s issue has to be treated as a one-off. Remember, he has yet to have his guilt established following the ASADA tests.

In the end it was the heroics of Andrew Krakouer that proved to be the crucial element in Swans’ premiership. And it is heart-warming that Krakouer has gone on to revive his AFL career.

Should Casserly be found guilty of his drug charge it will have a short-term impact on Swans’ image – and that of the WAFL competition.

But it would be a long bow to draw to protest that a line should be placed through “2010: Swan Districts” on the list of local league premiers because of his alleged mistake.