A football midfielder from WAFL is facing a two year ban for testing positive for steroid nandrolone. The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority or ASADA informed the East Perth officials about the results of the test conducted on the A and B sample of the player. East Perth Royals midfielder Dean Cadwallader expressed his remorse during a press conference held recently. The team officials tried to hide the results from other players but they have no other option but to go public because Cadwallader was not seen playing for two weeks now.

East Perth coach Tony Micale, who joined him in the press conference, said that other players are already wondering about the status of Cadwallader. “Obviously Dean is a very popular player at the club and a quality player and when he was missing the last two weeks, players were wondering about his whereabouts,” said Micale. The coach also told the media that he was disappointed on what happened to his ward especially that many AFL teams are already eyeing Cadwallader to be part of their team. “I think most of you would know that Dean has been in the sights of most AFL clubs and that he would almost certainly have been drafted later this year. This is now a real test of his character. I think he has the ability and the attitude to come back,” Micale added.

The Royals coach clarified that even if Cadwallader played an important role in the team, they will not tolerate his wrongdoings. “As Dean acknowledged, he’s made a big mistake and he’s going to pay a heavy price for it,” he said. “I just want to say, on behalf of the Club and his teammates, that we can’t condone what he’s done, but we can and will support him in his efforts to come back from this obvious setback to his dream of playing AFL,” Micale said.

Below is an excerpt of Cadwallader’s statement posted on the East Perth Football Club website.

“I would like to acknowledge my actions and express my regret for the disappointment I’ve caused to a lot of people. I’d like to apologise to my family, my teammates, the East Perth Football Club and its staff, its members and our supporters. There is no excuse. I’ve made a huge mistake and I’m going to pay the price for that mistake. I only hope that I can come back to the game in the future and make a positive contribution. I’d like to thank the club and my family for their support and once again apologise for the hurt that I have caused them.”

The final decision will come out on July 14. For the meantime, Cadwallader has the opportunity to contest the result or give his explanation on why he was tested positive for steroid at the Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel. But the anti-doping authority will certainly give the 2 year ban. The only thing that Cadwallader can hope for is not to ban him from all levels of the sport.

His coach believes that Cadwallader made an error of judgment in taking steroids. “Dean didn’t need to do it, in my opinion. Dean had the natural talent to achieve the highest level without using drugs,” said Micale. “I’m absolutely shocked. It’s taken the club by complete surprise and I’m really, really disappointed for Dean because Dean’s a quality person and he’s just made an error of judgement on this occasion,” the coach added.

The case of Cadwallader will again make a negative impact not just on the Royals and WAFL but on the entire sports in general. There are already cases where some of the AFL players were involved in taking steroids. The Royals coach said that he has no knowledge if there are other players involved in the use of anabolic steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. He also declined to comment when asked about Cadwallader’s steroid regimen.

Dean Cadwallader is only 19 years old but his career in football may end too soon because of anabolic steroids. Nandrolone is a popular steroid known to help athletes build muscles. Another name for this steroid is Deca-durabolin. According to online sources, Cadwallader tested positive in late May and the result of his B sample was made known this week.

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