Brisbane Lions to hold crisis talks after Craig Lambert suspended for role in Lachie Whitfield saga
BRISBANE’S board will meet on Wednesday to discuss the future of banned welfare manager Craig Lambert.
Lambert and Collingwood football boss Graeme Allan were handed 12-month bans by the AFL Commission for attempting to hide Giants midfielder Lachie Whitfield at the Lamberts’ home to avoid any potential drug tests.
Whitfield accepted a six-month ban. However, the AFL Commission has yet to decide if the Giants will also be penalised with the loss of draft picks.
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said Lambert and Allan, who resigned after the suspensions were announced, had failed Whitfield in their actions.
“I reckon the sanctions are appropriate,” McLachlan said.
“He’s a 19-year-old kid who took advice from his supervisors, or the people who were looking after him. There’s a different allocation of responsibility. There’s not one piece of evidence or any allegation of anything to do with performance-enhancing drugs.
“(It is) a poor reflection (on the professionals involved). It is a mistake that is hard to believe.”
Originally published as Lions to assess Lambert fallout