THE AFL is under increasing pressure from at least three clubs to toughen the controversial "three strikes" illicit drug policy.

The news comes as The Sunday Age can reveal that league chief executive Andrew Demetriou wrote to the chairmen, presidents, chief executives and head coaches of all 16 clubs several weeks ago to defend the AFL policy.

He argued that contrary to popular belief, the league did have a "zero tolerance" approach to illicit drugs.

The travelling roadshow of AFL medical team Peter Harcourt and Harry Unglik is also set for a new assignment. The pair flew to Perth on Thursday night to evaluate former Eagles skipper Ben Cousins. In coming months they will brief the directors of all 16 clubs.

The board briefings, which will take place between now and the end of the season, will outline the AFL's illicit drug policy and present the research and objectives behind it, attempting to appraise uneasy clubs of the full facts as Federal Government pressure on the AFL to ditch its approach and adopt rugby league's "two-strikes" policy intensifies.

Demetriou has written to the Federal Government to say that the AFL policy will be reviewed at season's end and sources spoken to by The Sunday Age expect major changes. "There's a fair bit of political pressure around at the moment," one club administrator said. "I think we will see some movement."

Geelong chief executive Brian Cook said his board believed the current approach was too lenient and was impressed by what it knew of the NRL model. "We would prefer a two-strikes policy rather than three … we think that the club should also be informed as soon as a positive test is made. We believe the club should be part of the solution." But Cook said the club supported a focus on player welfare rather than punishment.

The government believes the AFL's policy is too lenient, sends an undesirable message and is at odds with the government's "zero tolerance" approach to drug taking. "Three strikes is not zero tolerance," Sports Minister George Brandis has repeatedly said, while Minister responsible for illicit drug policy Christopher Pyne has called the AFL approach "too soft".

After a meeting with the ministers in late May, Demetriou wrote to the 16 club leaders, saying that much of the criticism of the policy had been "misinformed, misinterpreted or just plain wrong" and defended the league's position. "We do have a zero tolerance view of illicit drugs. We oppose illicit drug use and our policy tackles illicit drug use and does not in any way condone illicit drug use," the memo says.

But despite the missive, unrest has continued among some clubs. A Canberra source suggested that Geelong, Sydney and the Kangaroos were unhappy or uneasy about aspects of the AFL policy and had made their feelings known to the league. Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has also been a critic of the policy's failure to notify club chiefs until a third positive test is recorded.

Sydney chief executive Myles Baron-Hay said he supported the education and rehabilitation focus of the current policy. "We have suggested to the AFL though that we think the clubs are uniquely positioned to help in that rehabilitation process," he said. "We need to know if a player has tested positive before the third strike." He said clubs should play a role in rehabilitation.

AFL medical commissioners Harcourt and Unglik will brief the Geelong board in October, while Swans and Kangaroos directors will be addressed next month. Kangaroos chief executive Rick Aylett denied yesterday that the club's board had expressed discontent about the current policy, saying directors had not reached a position on the matter and would discuss it at the next board meeting.

The club received $2 million in federal funding towards the redevelopment of Arden Street last week but Aylett said the money had not come with any attached pressure from Canberra to press the government's case on the AFL drug policy.