Former Melbourne player Joel Smith has opened up about his anti-doping ban, insisting he should not be called a drug trafficker and revealing he hopes to return to the AFL once his suspension ends in 2028.
Smith, 29, was handed a suspension of four years and three months late last year, after returning a positive test for cocaine and its metabolite Benzoylecgonine following Melbourne’s round 23 win over Hawthorn in 2023. The suspension covered five rule violations under the AFL’s anti-doping code, including the positive match-day test, cocaine possession and trafficking.
He cannot take part in any World Anti-Doping Authority-compliant competition until January 9, 2028, but can begin training with a club from November 2027.
Bid for redemption: Banned former Melbourne forward Joel Smith wants another shot at the AFL.Credit: Getty Images
While he is unable to even play social basketball or golf, Smith, who said he remains in contact with former teammates, hopes a club will take a chance on him when his ban concludes despite almost being 32 by that point.
“I’m going to go back to play footy. Jeez, if I get another crack, AFL, or whatever it is playing local. But I’ll definitely go back into playing footy of some sort,” Smith told The Watch podcast.
“I’ll be a young 31, at least the body isn’t going to get knocked around. Still got two and a half years, so we’ll just stay fit and work and just be a good dad in that time.
“I haven’t really properly looked at [how to return to the AFL], I haven’t really spoken to anyone. I just think it is something I’ll start looking into closer but, right now, I am just working and being a dad and just staying happy and healthy. And when it gets closer, that’s when I’ll start asking the questions about it all. But it’s definitely something that is in the background that I would be keen to give another crack.”
Smith, the son of former North Melbourne and Melbourne high-flyer Shaun Smith, said he had learnt from his mistakes and could still have four good seasons of AFL football should he be selected.
“If I can come and potentially give a team something that are chasing a flag, like that’d be great. Four years, I feel like I’d get a lot out of that. But it’s just about staying healthy and keeping the body ticking over. Because if it does, you never say never, really. Like if it does happen, it’d be great, but there’s always local footy as well,” Smith, now working in construction, said.
Smith, the father of two young children, had played 42 games before his ban. He knew as soon as he was randomly tested that he was in trouble.
“They are random tests. Obviously, when you get the tap on the shoulder … it was a deflating feeling because I am like: ‘Ah f—, I think I am in trouble here’. Then you get the call from the club saying: ‘You need to come in, something has come up’. I went in and they handed me with the game-day testing – it was a shocking feeling,” Smith said.
“Then you get involved with lawyers. You don’t really understand how much lawyers cost until you are dealing with them. The first three months were horrible. I thought I was going to be back playing in three months, which is the thing that sucks. If you don’t do it the day of the game, it is three months. But, for some reason, they thought – I did it close to the game, but definitely didn’t do it the day of the game. That’s the thing that sucks, that they didn’t see through that.
“I was training my arse off for that three months because I had to train by myself. I was like, I was going to be back, talking to lawyers … to get the call … to say they are going to give you four years, just shocked.”
Three of Smith’s five violations of the AFL’s policy were for trafficking or attempted trafficking of cocaine on and/or between April 12, 2020 and September 7, 2020; July 28 and July 30, 2022 and September 5 and September 10, 2022.
Better days ahead: Former Melbourne player Joel Smith.Credit: Getty Images
As reported by this masthead, text messages from Smith to other players formed part of Sport Integrity Australia and the AFL’s probe into the 191-centimetre utility. There were fears that other players could face consequences for being linked to Smith, but the investigation did not have sufficient evidence to pursue them.
However, Smith denied he was a trafficker.
“Under the rules of the sport, technically it is, but I just feel to call me a trafficker is pretty harsh. It’s one thing that I am definitely not,” he said.
Smith said he opted not to fight the rulings, in part to help protect his young family.
“I don’t really feel sorry for myself, really,” Smith said.“Like, end of the day, no one forces you to do it, you make your decisions. It’s all my fault, really, in the end. My mistake, I’ve just got to own it, and that’s just what it is,” he said.
“There’s no point pointing fingers at other people, because what’s that going to get you? Just got to man up, and just is what it is.”
“I won’t make that mistake again, I can say that for a fact.”
Smith, whose sister Amy in an AFLW player, said he was still in contact with his former teammates, but could not discuss football-related matters.
“We had a tight little group there. Players that are still playing, players that have left the club. We still keep in good contact,” Smith said.
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