The report centres on one of the club's most successful eras - from 2001 to 2007 when the Eagles made two grand finals and won a premiership spearheaded by 2005 Brownlow medallist Cousins. Cousins, who spent two seasons with Richmond before retiring in 2010, on Monday pleaded guilty to 11 charges including stalking and drug possession. A culture of drug-taking was "well in place" by the end of 2003, the report found. It could be traced back to 2000, based on "success, arrogance (and) a belief that what the players did in their own time was their own business" as well as the "rock star status" players such as Cousins enjoyed in Perth. "Most of the players would have known by 2004 that some of the senior and better players were dabbling in illicit drugs," Gillard found.

"Yet nothing was done. The players concerned were playing good football." Senior figures at the time in coach John Worsfold, who is now at Essendon, and CEO Trevor Nisbett, who still holds his position at the Eagles, were rebuked by Gillard. "Coach Worsfold was told by at least three fairly reliable sources in 2002 that some players were taking illicit drugs and were mixing with undesirable persons and could get themselves into trouble," Gillard found. "Two names were mentioned, Cousins and (Michael) Gardiner. They were spoken to by the coach, and the players responded that there was nothing to worry about. "After West Coast Eagles were defeated by Collingwood in the finals series in September 2007, coach Worsfold addressed the players and after congratulating them and thanking them for their efforts in what was a very close-fought semi-final, proceeded to severely criticise a number of players, who he named, as derailing the team's efforts for season 2007.

"It was clear that the coach was extremely disappointed and angry that the season had not ended on a winning note, and in particular talked about the taking of drugs and stated in belligerent manner that 'he would rather die than take a drug'." Nisbett was criticised for the lack of set procedures at the club to deal with the players' behaviour away from the club. "Each incident was dealt with by an official although as Mr Nisbett stated, he dealt with the more serious actions of misconduct and some were dealt with by the board," the report said. "Mr Nisbett emphasised the difficulty involved in seeking to establish the facts. "I have some difficulty in accepting that players and especially officials are not forthcoming when dealing with the CEO or the coaching staff in relation to misconduct."

The report even goes back as far as 1998, mentioning three players "observed behaving in a highly stimulated fashion despite not drinking alcohol". Gillard also wrote of the post-season trip to Las Vegas where Chad Fletcher spent four days in hospital after collapsing in a nightclub. Fletcher, who pleaded guilty to cocaine offences in 2010 but avoided conviction, rarely spoke of the incident except to describe it as "life-changing" until last year, when he opened up an interview about his battle with depression. "We all have emotional times throughout our careers and our lives and I guess it's the challenge of how we get through them," he said in 2016. "The support network was a big one for me with the footy club and my family and mates really helping me through it."

The Gillard report said there was "evidence that some days before the incident, Fletcher in a highly-stimulated state, was showing players and others in a nightclub, an image on a digital camera of what appeared to be the drug ice". Loading Gillard criticised "restrictions on testing and the confidentiality obligation which restricts a club dealing with a potential drug problem". AAP