TWO AFL footballers are on the brink of being named and suspended for illicit-drug use after testing positive twice last year.

Those two players, whose identities have not been revealed, accounted for two of the 14 failed tests among players in 2009.

The AFL's Adrian Anderson Credit:Paul Rovere

While the overall number of failed tests has risen — in 2008 there were 12 — the proportion of them has fallen for the fourth consecutive year.

Drug-testers conducted another 348 more tests last year, with an increased emphasis on targeting players with strikes, but recorded only two more failures from players.