The threat of heftier sanctions from the World Anti-Doping Agency has prompted key figures in the Lachie Whitfield saga to accept bans for the 2017 season.
News Corp and Fox Sports have reported the young Greater Western Sydney midfielder will be handed a six-month ban for avoiding a drugs test last May.
The two ex-Giants staff members involved in the cover-up - Graeme Allan and Craig Lambert - are also set for 12-month bans under the AFL-imposed but ASADA-backed agreement.
A final decision and announcement of the punishments, which could also include the loss of picks in his month's national draft, could arrive this week after Tuesday's AFL Commission meeting.
The suspensions will allow Whitfield, taken by the Giants with the No.1 pick in the 2012 draft, to resume his career as soon as round nine of the 2017 season.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Allan, who is now Collingwood's football chief, and Lambert, who also left his role as a welfare officer with the Giants for a role with AFL rivals Brisbane, would resume their careers at season's end.
The punishment is a blow for the Magpies, which released respected backroom operator Neil Balme after appointing Allan and will need to find a short-term replacement for the 2016 season.
The sentences are the result of negotiations between the parties and the AFL, under ASADA supervision, unlike the tortured, antagonistic process that lengthened Essendon's supplements saga.
It's understood that by accepting the sanctions, ASADA will effectively close the book on the inquiry, clearing Whitfield, Allan and Lambert of future investigations.
It is unclear whether Whitfield will be able to train with the Giants during his ban.
The 22-year-old stayed at Lambert's house for several nights in May last year, under Allan's instructions, after alleged recreational drug use, so as to avoid a potential drug test.
Any announcement on Tuesday would come alongside the Commission's decision on whether it will award Brownlow Medals to Sam Mitchell and Trent Cotchin.
Mitchell and Cotchin polled 26 votes in the 2012 count, behind only Essendon midfielder Jobe Watson, who has given back his medal after his involvement in the club's doping regime.
