CAREER UNDER THREAT

AFL chief executive officer Gillon McLachlan has questioned the “negative aspect” of disgraced former player Karmichael Hunt on the drug taking of Gold Coast Suns young gun Harley Bennell.

The AFL boss said Hunt – who made explosive statements naming 12 players to the Crime and Corruption Commission investigating a cocaine syndicate – had been instrumental in Bennell’s early career but not provided leadership in all areas of his life.

“( Bennell’s) had an incredibly tough background,” he said.

“His challenges are known to the club and, I think, broadly known. Karmichael was instrumental in working through a number of Harley’s challenges with him, and does it mean there wasn’t some other aspects to that, that seemingly from the outside have some negative aspects as well?

“I don’t know the full detail of all of that. But I think the role he’s played in Harley’s life is well known and he’s provided leadership in a lot of areas. Maybe not all areas.”

The comments came after the Herald Sun yesterday exposed Bennell taking lines of speed at a hotel in Tasmania in March 2013.

He was pictured at 3am with a rolled up $ 20 note hunched over five lines of speed with at least one woman.

Both Hunt, 28, and Bennell, 22, joined the Gold Coast Suns in 2010 and shared a house.

Hunt has named Bennell as one of the 12 players who took part in an end- of- season cocaine binge at Swell Apartments, in Burleigh, on the Gold Coast.

“Back at the apartment I put the cocaine that I had bought on the dining room table,” Hunt’s police statement reads.

“I was vaguely aware that most people there were using the cocaine during the night ...”

“I noticed the next morning that all of the cocaine was gone. As the cocaine was gone we had to get a top- up the next morning ...”

“On Monday, 1 September 2014, we went on a trip to the ‘ Bearded Dragon’ in the Gold Coast hinterland.

“Whilst others might have used cocaine that day, I don’t remember seeing anyone else use it that day but assume that ( name deleted), ( name deleted), Harley Bennell, ( name deleted), and ( name deleted) would have used cocaine that day.”

Yesterday the Suns said Bennell would be rested this weekend and a full investigation would begin early next week with a decision then made on his future.