THE special investigator appointed by the AFL to investigate West Coast's culture will have no power to force former Eagles chairman Dalton Gooding to co-operate with his inquiry.

Under AFL rules, retired Victorian Supreme Court judge Bill Gillard, QC, will have full authority to demand co-operation from any current AFL player, coach or administrator at any club. But Gillard will have no authority to compel former players or officials, such as Gooding, to participate.

The AFL yesterday refused to allow Gillard to speak to media about the probe into West Coast's players, staff and culture.

AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said the retired Supreme Court judge would not make any comment to the media while the investigation — which is expected to take up to three months to complete — continued.

There are also no guarantees his final report to the AFL Commission will be made public.

Gillard is expected to interview a number of current Eagles, including chief executive Trevor Nisbett, coach John Worsfold, leaders Darren Glass, Dean Cox, Andrew Embley and Tyson Stenglein along with controversial midfielders Daniel Kerr and Chad Fletcher.

He is also expected to interview players who have left the Eagles for other AFL clubs, such as former captain Chris Judd and St Kilda's Michael Gardiner.

Keane confirmed the AFL Commission basically has unlimited powers to punish listed players or officials who refused to co-operate with the investigator, with penalties including suspension and fines.

"Under the AFL rules, you must co-operate with the investigator in the same way as co-operating with the AFL Tribunal or co-operating with the player payments department," Keane said.

"You don't have a choice."

■Sacked West Coast star Ben Cousins has hired his former club's high-profile lawyer David Grace, QC, to defend him at the AFL Commission hearing on November 19 in relation to charges that he brought the game into disrepute.

The Eagles have ruled out offering their former midfielder any financial assistance as he battles to keep his career alive.

Grace has played a key role in West Coast's legal affairs in recent years, including in two major tribunal cases.

He helped clear midfielder Adam Selwood of sledging Fremantle star Des Headland about a tattoo of his daughter, and got Brownlow medallist Chris Judd cleared of eye-gouging Hawthorn's Campbell Brown.

A former chairman of the Law Institute of Victoria, Grace also worked for St Kilda midfielder Leigh Montagna during rape allegations in 2004, the Gypsy Jokers bikie gang and Fremantle following the disputed match against St Kilda in Launceston last year when umpires failed to hear the siren.

The Eagles worked with industrial relations lawyers when they terminated Cousins' contract and did not seek Grace's counsel on the issue.

He refused to comment about the case yesterday.

WEST AUSTRALIAN