WAFL 2021: Former Peel Thunder midfielder Michael Randall could start pre-season despite positive drug test

Suspended Peel footballer Michael Randall could start pre-season training next month if he receives the same penalty that applied to Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne in 2017.

Payne was banned from riding for four weeks after testing positive to the banned weight-loss drug phentermine.

Randall was stood down for the last match of the WAFL season in August after testing positive to phentermine in a match-day test a month earlier.

The tough midfielder intends to seek a clearance to East Perth and could be able to start pre-season training with the Royals if he receives a similar penalty to the Victorian jockey.

At least five other WAFL clubs are interested in recruiting the 21-year-old who trained with Fremantle this year and has become a regular and influential league player.

Payne became the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup when she rode long-shot Prince of Penzance in 2015.

She tested positive to phentermine two years later and was issued with a four-week riding ban after a hearing before the Racing Victoria stewards.

Her father Paddy Payne later revealed that his daughter had used the prescribed weight loss medication Neuroform.

It is understood that Randall has co-operated fully with the WA Football Commission and Sport Integrity Australia and is now awaiting a date for a tribunal hearing.

Phentermine is present in legal medications used to suppress appetite but is banned in sport because it is a stimulant that can cause potential harm to athletes.