Fines, bans for Crows pair

But free agent Crouch is unlikely to serve suspension as he seeks to move clubs

ADELAIDE pair Brad Crouch and Tyson Stengle will be handed an AFL illicit drugs strike and accept fine sand suspensions after they were bus ted with cocaine.

But Crouch might never serve his internal suspension given he is likely to move, possibly to Gee long.

The Crows had been hopeful of releasing the penalties for the pair on Thursday, having had to try to work through the punishments with the AFL and player union. But this has been delayed. It is expected to be guided by precedent that saw two players suspended for a fortnight after they used illicit drugs and were caught.

Under that precedent the players could be fined as much as $25,000 and be handed multi-week-suspensions.

When StKilda’ s Jake Carlisle was caught snorting an illicit substance in 2015 he accepted a two-week suspension and forfeited a $50,000 marketing component of his deal.

GWS’s Shane Mumford was fined $25,000 and suspended for two weeks after he was caught snorting cocaine.

Any penalties are complicated by free agent Crouch likely exiting the club and St eng le having this year served a four-week club ban for drinkdriving.

Adelaide must incorporate a games-based ban in its overall penalty.

If Crouch moved to Geelong the penalty would not be transported to the Cats given it is an internal suspension.

The Crows will make clear Stengle is on his last chance at and, under AFL rules, is not allowed to sack him, with the young goalsneak also having signed a two-season deal.

Adelaide’ s wish to hand him a suspension longer than the four-week ban given he has not changed his behaviour has to be negotiated with the AFLPA.

Ideally it would suspend him six to 10 weeks given the severity of his transgressions but the AFLPA might not allow a penalty of that length.

They are expected to accept illicit drugs strikes, which under AFL rules see players handed a $5000 suspended fine and mandatory counselling and education programs.

A second drug strike sees a player paying that $5000 fine and suspended for four weeks.