Coaches in the region are known to be disappointed at headlines in the Herald-Sun this week such as “Coaches supplying ice to players in grassroots footy crisis”, with claims of players as young as 14 using ice before games.

While Hamilton says it would be naive to believe that football-netball clubs aren’t immune to the ice problem in society, such headlines paint an unfair picture for the vast majority of coaches.

“Sometimes you get these sort of headlines and clearly, we’re talking about very isolated cases, but the coaches in our region... you don’t like to be tainted with that brush,” Hamilton said on Friday.

“Our coaches care about their players and 99.9 per cent of coaches are there to assist players to be better.

“Having been a coach myself, it’s not just about on-field, you do so much with players to help them in a whole range of areas.

“I’ve had some contact with a number of coaches in the region saying those sort of headlines are awful because they are isolated and don’t come from our region and we don’t like to hear anything like this.

“Clubs are such good places to be and very inclusive where people can come and feel safe, and those safe environments are really important for clubs to be sustainable into the future.

“When you hear of bad incidents, that’s a real scourge on a lot of people who do a lot of wonderful work in our community.”

Long-time senior coach Derrick Filo, now at Mount Pleasant, said he was extremely disappointed at the headlines referencing coaches supplying ice to players and its implications for all who hold such a position.

“It’s a throwaway line, but people see that headline, and take it on board and think it must be happening everywhere,” Filo said.

“But I can’t believe that any country coach is going to give their players ice... we’re competitive, but most of us are dads there to look after young people.”

Kangaroo Flat coach Jason Stevens echoed the sentiments of Filo.

“I don’t think that’s a fair representation,” Stevens said.

“I certainly don’t think there would be anyone in our competition who would think about doing that sort of stuff.

“To be honest, to have something like that pointed at coaches is very offensive.”

Golden Square coach Nick Carter said while the headlines may have created some angst, ice is an issue that must be confronted.

“It’s a society issue and we shouldn’t think that just because we are involved in football-netball clubs that we should be excluded from it,” Carter said.

“We need to be aware that people sometimes use the media to bring an issue to the table, and if this has helped raise the issue, now it’s about what do we do about it if it is an issue in Bendigo.”

Eaglehawk coach Luke Monaghan said he was shocked at this week’s reports.

“To hear that football clubs and players would be using ice as a performance-enhancer is definitely a shock to me,” Monaghan said.

Hamilton said AFLCV - which has anti-drug initiatives - would work with clubs in establishing policies concerning illicit drugs.