Ex-Brisbane player Rhys Mathieson, who is known as the 'Beast' or 'Barometer', has been targeted by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) following his viral transformation post-football.
Mathieson made a name for himself in the AFL with his unique game style and provocative goal celebrations but has remained relevant as he lines up for QAFL team Wilston Grange Gorillas from time to time.
However, the 'Barometer's' transformation as a local footballer caught the headlines throughout 2024 and reportedly gained ASADA's attention.
It was revealed on Mitch Robinson and Mathieson's podcast Rip It Through that the drug testing authority made a surprise visit to the Mathieson household in the early hours of the morning.
โI am confused,โ Mathieson said.
โIn my whole time in football with all my teammates I've played with โ I was there for eight years (at Brisbane) โ they always talk about (the testers) rocking up to your house.
โNever seen it ... you guys never do it.
โSo 5am in the morning, buzzer is going off at the front door. I don't live at this residence no more, my mum and dad do.
โMy poor mum is going, โWhat the hell. Why is there two guys buzzing our door at 5am?' She's getting a bit worried, a bit scared.
โ(She) sends the old boy there, he's in his jocks, has to throw on the dressing gown.
โHe opens the door and he goes, โWhat do you blokes want?' ... at this hour, it's dark, he can barely see.
โAnd they're like, โAnti-doping'. He just goes like, โNah, not interested. And shuts it (the door). So he was thinking it was like an electricity company trying to sell him something
โSo then he goes and has his coffee, and 30 minutes later, they're still there. He said, โSeriously, what do you guys want?'
โAnd that's when they said this is anti-doping, we're here to test Rhys Mathieson.โ
Robinson - a former teammate of Mathieson at the Lions - didn't mince his words when condemning ASADA's decision to target test the 27-year-old.
โF*** you, ASADA. F*** you, QAFL ... Don't press his parent's doorbell. Five in the morning when Craigo's trying to get lucky,โ Robinson fumed.
โSomething that I haven't seen in my whole lifetime is target testing in f****** local footy.
โPeople don't realise you're in the gym two hours a day, you're carb loading, all you eat is tuna and rice.โ
Mathieson wasn't pleased with the process, which startled his parents.
โMy parents don't really know this stuff,โ Mathieson said.
โWhat in the earth are they doing rocking up (to my parents' house) while I'm a country footballer and in my whole time in my AFL career, they did not test me or anyone I've known.
โI have an issue with this because they say it's all random ... and normally (when they turn up to a match) they test three or four blokes from my team and the other team, this day it was just me.
โI feel like the way they went about was really wrong. And whoever complained, stuff you.โ
ASADA has previously made it clear that players from local leagues at any level can be subjected to drug testing.
Tests can be performed on any athlete who participates in a sport with an anti-doping policy.
