WHILE former Supreme Court judge Bill Gillard, QC, has been granted sweeping inquisitorial power by the AFL Commission to investigate issues at the Eagles, the AFL has not spelt out the penalties players or officials face for non-co-operation, though it has warned the punishment would be severe.

Gillard, who began at the AFL yesterday and is expected in Perth on Monday, was appointed as a result not only of the Ben Cousins controversies of the past year, but a number of other incidents including those involving Cousins' teammates Daniel Kerr and Chad Fletcher.

Gillard is further charged with investigating a range of players and incidents, about which the AFL has anecdotal evidence of inappropriate behaviour and substance abuse.

The club's behaviour in dealing with players will be the primary focus of the investigation, and it is uncertain what might be made of the discovery of new evidence of misbehaviour by players.

MICHAEL GLEESON