When the WADA Code was developed one of the key tenets was to apply the same rules, with one or two logical exceptions, to all sports across the globe.

As a result for example sports like athletics which did not prohibit cannabis use, even in competition, had to agree to making it so - in the interests of the Code being universal.

But the reality is the World Anti-Doping Code is not universal - placing incredibly onerous obligations on individual athletes which are not applicable to those who engage in sports organised on a team basis.

More onerous than the obligations on the individual are the penalties if they err - intentionally or by inadvertence. And what happens in between is the untold story - affecting individual athletes' daily lives, their stress levels and their ability to concentrate on training.

Meanwhile their counterparts in team sports are protected from all of that. This simply has to change. It makes no sense to treat one group of athletes as harshly as they do - and another hardly at all.

And the only logical solution is to apply the same rules to team sports because the rationale for the whereabouts rules are an important tool in the fight against doping in sport. Without it the most important element in the fight livery - the athlete biological passport - would be rendered useless.

So what is the story here? In individual sports, athletes placed in a registered testing pool are required to nominate a one-hour period every day when they will be available to the anti-doping authorities for no-notice testing. Critically, they must state exactly where they will be in each of those one-hour periods. Omitting to fill in the one-hour period and location in the online system - leads to what is known a filing failure - and one strike. Not being in the designated location during that hour amounts to what is known as a missed test - and one strike.

Accrue three strikes in a 12-month period and the athlete receives between a one and two-year ban. But if you are a professional team sport athlete, it is the team or association that has all the responsibility.

It is a bizarre situation. The athletes who have the most administrative support available to them have the least personal responsibility - in fact none at all. Those who are left to do everything for themselves are the most vulnerable.

Consider a standard everyday occurrence that sets an individual athlete up for a strike. Head over to Mum and Dad's for dinner but it goes longer than usual for any number of reasons, the car breaks down or bad weather sets in.

Not remotely unusual that Mum suggests you stay the night in your old room. In the moment the athlete forgets to go online and change their whereabouts for 6am the next morning. The testers turn up at the athlete's own home. Strike!

These filings are made for a three-month period at the beginning of each quarter. Imagine how difficult that is for an individual.

Again for large periods of the year, professional team athletes know exactly where they will be at a certain time on each day. The club therefore nominates routine times - typically when the players are in recovery sessions.

Many individuals have no idea. Regular training venues become unavailable with no notice due to a school booking, maintenance or bad weather. When travelling, hotels change at short notice - exact room numbers even more often. Flights are delayed.

So when at home most athletes choose very early morning slots. It's safer in terms of avoiding a strike but hardly conducive to good sleep patterns, daily life cycles and relationships with flatmates. But if you are in a professional team sport all you have to do is follow the club's plan and if anything blows up it's the club that gets fined.

This week those four AFL clubs were fined between $2500 and $10,000. Minuscule compared to the stress individuals on one or two strikes have to bear for a year or the opportunities and money they lose if they hit a third strike and spend time out.