The AFL wants Jake Carlisle's video scandal to count as a strike under the revamped illicit drugs policy.
The league's integrity unit is investigating the high-profile St Kilda recruit, who apologised after video emerged of him snorting an unidentified white powder while on a United States holiday.
Carlisle cut short the trip last week to return home and front his furious new club.
At Wednesday's announcement of the new illicit drugs code, AFL football operations manager Mark Evans said there were ongoing discussions between Carlisle, the Saints and the integrity unit.
"You could expect there will be consequences for Jake Carlisle," Evans said.
The league also want to sanction Carlisle, despite the player not having confessed to taking an illicit drug.
"I don't think you need me to talk about the sensibility or otherwise of that action," Evans said.
"I would say that over the last 48 hours, we've had discussions with the players' association.
"In principle, we think a common-sense approach should be (that) should a player have video or photographic evidence of drug use, that should count as a detection under the policy.
"I would have thought it's an act he'll regret for a long time."
Carlisle has only admitted to making a very poor decision.
As expected, Evans and AFL Players' Association chief executive Paul Marsh announced a tougher three-strikes policy, with players losing their anonymity after a second positive test.
Previously, their identities were not revealed until the third strike.
A player tested positive for a second time will be suspended for four games and fined $5000.
A third positive will mean a 12-game ban and a fine under the player code of conduct.
Hair testing will be year-round although, for the time being, only positive urine test results will count as strikes.
Even if a player has not tested positive, the league will now be able to inform his club if he is seen to be acting outside the spirit of the policy.
An example would be if a player showed repeated elevated dosages in his hair test results.
The controversial self-reporting loophole will be tightened - a player can do it once and only if he has no priors under the policy.
But there will be some short-term leniency for players who had strikes under the old regime.
Effectively, if they have one strike, it will go back to zero, while two strikes will revert to one and three goes back to two.
"Clearly, it wouldn't be fair to have a situation where a player on two strikes under the old policy would transition to a straightaway suspension," Marsh said.
Players who tested positive under the old regime will have their most-recent strike annulled after two years if they do not reoffend.
Any player who tests positive can have a clean slate if he does not reoffend for four years.
The illicit drugs policy was introduced in 2005 and has been under review for the past seven months.
If is a voluntary policy, agreed to by the players, and is separate to the standard anti-doping code.
THE AFL's REVISED "THREE STRIKES" ILLICIT DRUGS CODE:
STRIKE ONE: The player's first positive test will mean a suspended $5000 fine, plus compulsory education and counselling. As with the old regime, he will remain anonymous
STRIKE TWO: The player is banned for four weeks and fined $5000. In a major break from the old policy, his name becomes public
STRIKE THREE: 12-game suspension and a fine under the players' code of conduct
Other features:
* Only positive urine tests count as strikes
* Continuation of year-round hair testing, which for now will only be for research purposes. But if those results are suspicious, the player's club can be informed even if he has no positive urine test results
* More requirements for players around education and counselling after they've tested positive
* Greater club involvement - they are informed earlier and will have a bigger role in counselling and education programs in some circumstances
* Self-reporting - a player can only do it once in his career. And a positive test means he does not have this option
