The Western Bulldogs' embarrassing mistake over a pre-season camp in Colorado has cost them a $5000 AFL anti-doping fine.
At the end of a year where doping has been at the top of the AFL agenda, the Bulldogs failed to keep drug testers properly informed of player movements.
The league accepted that it was an administrative mistake, but a key feature of anti-doping is that authorities know where athletes are at all times for out-of-competition testing.
Under the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority policy, all AFL players can be tested at any time of the year for performance-enhancing drugs.
"The club has a strong history of compliance with all the paperwork requirements of the anti-doping code to ensure that ASADA is fully informed at all times and can perform its duties," said AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon.
"In this instance, while the AFL had been notified of the club's activities, ASADA was not separately notified.
"While this was an administrative error, it is important that the rules are fully complied with."
Half the fine of $10,000 was suspended until the end of 2015 because the club co-operated with the AFL over the matter.
The league fined the Bulldogs on behalf of ASADA.
The Bulldogs informed the AFL that 12 players would attend the two-week camp last month, but it did not separately let ASADA know.
"If athletes in the registered testing pool do not provide current and accurate whereabouts information, they may incur anti-doping rule violations and subsequent sanctions," ASADA explains on its website.
Essendon remain under ASADA investigation over the club's supplements scandal, which has been one of the biggest controversies in AFL history.
In late August, the league handed down its own punishments to Essendon over the saga.
The Bombers were kicked out of the finals, fined $2 million and stripped of draft picks.
Coach James Hird was suspended for 12 months, while assistant coach Mark Thompson was fined and football manager Danny Corcoran also received a four-month ban.
The AFL dropped charges against club doctor Bruce Reid.
