West Coast Eagles drug dramas caused player group split Justin Chadwick
The Age
October 1, 2014 - 6:06PM Retired West Coast champion Dean Cox suspects at least 10 Eagles players experimented with drugs during the AFL club's infamous fall from grace last decade.
Although much of the focus of West Coast's off-field shenanigans during 2006-07 focused on Ben Cousins' drug addiction, Cox said the issue stemmed far deeper than just one player.
Cox revealed the off-field dramas reached such a climax that it forced then-coach John Worsfold to call each player into his office to ask them directly whether they were either using or had previously experimented with drugs.
"I don't know the exact number of players who answered in the affirmative ... but I suspect it was in double figures," Cox wrote in his autobiography Iron Eagle, which was released this week.
Cox admits the turmoil caused some fractures within the player group.
"That's why it took so long to get all the players back on board," Cox said at his book launch on Wednesday.
"The majority of the players were down one way, and there were a few down another path.
"We were there for team success, and you can't do it while doing a number of things the player group were going through.
"Throughout '06 and '07 there became a real issue where things were privately done.
"Everyone was so stuck to themselves. And then from there it really came to a head where things were really affecting the football club."
Cousins was sacked at the end of 2007 after his drug use spiralled out of control, while other players were put on notice that their careers were hanging by a thread.
Cox played a vital role in turning the culture around, and his influence on the field was just as crucial as West Coast went from wooden spooners in 2010 to preliminary finalists a year later.
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