The AFL remains adamant it has received no information linking any of its players to the drug allegations involving Karmichael Hunt.
AFL chief executive Gill McLachlan said while it appeared the former Gold Coast player had made a terrible mistake, Hunt had also made an invaluable contribution to the Suns.
The code-hopping former Suns player, now with Super Rugby outfit Queensland, has received a notice to appear in court on March 5 for allegedly supplying cocaine.
The period in question was between September 1 and October 3 last year, when Hunt technically was still at the Suns.
The scandal has spread to the NRL, but so far Hunt is the only current or former AFL player implicated.
"We can only ask the questions we can of the appropriate people - we've done that," McLachlan said on Tuesday.
"I do not have any information at the moment that is negative or alarming.
"But I don't have any assurances of any broader implications.
"So we have a watching brief."
McLachlan said he would not buy into speculation about what had happened.
"He's made - seemingly - a terrible mistake," he said.
"What exactly he's done will play out and the implications will play out.
"But I'm not going to be piling in with everyone else to ... diminish what he did.
"We'll see what specifically his transgression is - it may be significant."
Hunt's defection to the Suns was a major coup for the AFL and a massive boost to the fledgling club.
"He played a significant role in the formation of the Suns and I don't want to downplay that," McLachlan said.
"I'm not here to put distance between us and Karmichael.
"I'm not going to try and play that game of distance, because he was an influential leader at the club."
McLachlan added he was not nervous about how the matter would play out.
"The reality is, there may be implications - I don't know," he said.
"I have no information that would say there is a problem at Gold Coast, but there may be.
"I have confidence in the culture and the playing group at that club."
There are now rampant rumours in Queensland about which other sportspeople might be involved.
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