The Eagles, gearing up for their first grand final appearance for nine years, were stunned by Chick's suggestions to The Herald Sun that the club's most recent premiership team had been rife with illicit and prescription drug abuse.

West Coast went on to lose the decider by 46 points but had a win when the Press Council this week ruled the publication had erred in not seeking comment from the Eagles before publishing the story.

The Eagles' complaint had focussed on the lack of consultation from the Herald Sun and also that the article was inaccurate in its claims of a "toxic culture of abuse of prescription and illicit drugs and cover-ups" and allegations of an incident in which a West Coast staff member hid a player from a drug test.

"The Council considers that, as the publication had been speaking with Daniel Chick for some time prior to publication, it should have sought comment from the Club before publication given the seriousness of the allegations, their timing and prominence," the Press Council ruling stated.

"The Council considers the publication failed to take reasonable steps to present the material with the fairness and balance required by General Principle 3. Accordingly, this aspect of the complaint is upheld."

On grand final eve, the Herald Sun's editor - confessed West Coast supporter Damon Johnston - had told Radio 6PR's Gary Adshead the newspaper was not there to be a "cheerleader" for the AFL, West Coast or anyone else.

"We're here to break news stories that are legitimate and in the public interest, and it ticks both of those boxes," Johnston said.

"Everyone has had their say about the Eagles in that era except for Daniel.

"Ben Cousins has done a documentary, endless TV interviews, Daniel Kerr is in the media telling his story and the club's told its story."

In countering the Eagles' charges of lack of contact prior to publication, the Herald Sun told the Press Council that it had been concerned West Coast might intimidate Chick or seek to prevent the article being published.

According to the Herald Sun, West Coast's "denials" had been included in stories after original publication and that when the paper rang a club doctor for comment, the medico hung up on a reporter.

In an editorial on the Eagles' website, the club's communications manager Gary Stocks said the Herald Sun had failed the first rule of journalism and that the cynic in him believed the story was an attempt to derail West Coast's grand final campaign.

"When the Herald Sun chose last year, in grand final week, to publish a series of articles after interviewing former West Coast premiership star Daniel Chick it did so without seeking to add any balance to a number of outrageous claims," Stocks said.

"Chick, by the way, has every right to conduct an interview with whomever and whoever he likes. The media outlet that runs that story has an obligation, a legal one, if not a moral one, to check the facts. The Herald Sun chose not to.

"Was that because the "explosive allegations" in this tabloid front page article might have been diminished to the point where there was no fuse? Who knows? We'd only be guessing.

"In essence the Herald Sun chose to ignore the first principle of journalism and opted to print one side of the story. It did not offer the West Coast Eagles an opportunity to refute some of those claims which, simply put, were fictitious."

The Press Council ruled that available information did not enable it to decide on the accuracy of "facts" presented within the Herald Sun's bombshell article.

But West Coast officials have since taken part in a Footy Show expose in which chief executive Trevor Nisbett admitted he would have given the 2006 flag back in exchange for the mental health of Ben Cousins and other troubled players.

Then club chairman, Dalton Gooding, confessed the number of 2006 Eagles taking illicit drugs was likely in double-figures but the club also suggested it had been hung out to dry and made an example of by the AFL.

Chick is one of a number of Eagles, including Cousins, Daniel Kerr, Chad Fletcher and Adam Hunter, who have battled issues after the AFL.

His post-retirement interaction with West Coast has been largely acrimonious. On top of the grand final week accusations, he savaged the club on Facebook after the Footy Show feature, accusing ex-teammate Andrew Embley of not telling the truth, saying coach John Worsfold had failed to support him and, most bizarrely, insinuating he suffered a stroke in the final games of his career.

But the Chick-West Coast relationship seems to have taken on a more pleasant turn in the past week after a chance encounter at Cottesloe Golf Club.

Chick was walking with his family when a ball hit by a playing partner of Embley nearly struck him.

The one-time combatants apparently shook hands and greeted each other on friendly terms, with Chick noting that he'd "see him at the game" in a few weeks - an apparent reference to the Eagles' premiership reunion before next week's Thursday night clash with Essendon.