Former Carlton captain Marc Murphy has expressed shock following the hospitalisation of Blues duo Lachie Cowan and Will Hayward.
The Blues confirmed Cowan, 21, and Hayward, 27, were admitted to hospital under separate circumstances on Sunday morning.
It followed the Seven Network reporting multiple Carlton players required hospitalisation after alleged recreational drug use and a party at a player's house on Saturday night.
Carlton are yet to confirm or deny whether recreational drugs were involved in Hayward or Cowan's hospital visits.
Murphy, who captained the club from 2013 to 2018, was taken aback when he heard the news.
"Anyone’s shocked when you see that article come through - most Carlton supporters would have been," he told AAP at the National Thoroughbred Week launch on Monday.
"Hopefully the guys are alright and the club is supporting them.
"We've got great people down there that will look after them."
Speaking generally on illicit drug-taking in sports, the 300-game Blues great described it as a society-wide issue.
"Unfortunately young men playing AFL aren’t immune to that," Murphy said.
The two-time Carlton best and fairest wasn't sure whether illicit drug use had lessened among elite footballers since his retirement in 2021.
"But what I do know is that the education around it all is more significant now than probably what it was back then," Murphy said.
"A lot of it back when I was playing was around alcohol and gambling, really ... all these young guys get education and support around why you shouldn’t do it. It’s crucial."
Ambulance Victoria said advanced life support paramedics responded to an incident in inner-suburban South Yarra at about 5.15am on Sunday.
A man in his 20s was taken to The Alfred Hospital in a stable condition.
The Blues confirmed Cowan received medical treatment and underwent observation before being discharged, while Hayward admitted himself and was stitched up after suffering a minor cut to the head.
"The club has been in regular contact with both players, with priority for their wellbeing and both players have now received the necessary care relating to their separate circumstances," the club wrote.
Carlton did not wish to comment further on Monday after Nine News reported the Blues were not expected to sanction Cowan or Hayward.
The AFL, which has contacted Carlton since the crisis erupted, had not issued a statement or commented about the matter by Monday afternoon.
The league rejigged its illicit drugs policy in March this year, with chief executive Andrew Dillon declaring the agreed changes would make it "the most stringent illicit drugs policy in Australian sport".
Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie, who used parliamentary privilege in 2024 to allege secret testing of AFL players so they would not fail drug tests under the policy, remains skeptical.
"If the media reports are right, this is more evidence that the AFL haven't yet cleaned up their act," he told Melbourne radio station Nova.
"It seems like it's a regime that ... goes beyond harm minimisation to keep everything under wraps, keep everything out of the public eye, protect the reputation of the sport."
