Former AFL champ Ron De Iulio suffers a stroke amid ice allegations

Former AFL star Ron De Iulio has suffered a stroke after allegedly being caught with methamphetamine and a pile of cash. 

The 49-year-old was allegedly found with a small quantity of the deadly drug known as ice and an unknown quantity of cash after being picked up by police in Melbourne’s CBD on June 18. 

It is understood police allege the cash was the proceeds of crime. 

Lawyer Zoe Davis suggested a Victorian magistrate would be ‘disrespectful’ if he released Di Iulio’s charge sheets. He did so anyway. 

Ron De Iulio (left) suffered a stroke last month while facing a swag of drug related charges 

The former star, who played more than 100 games with the Blues during the 1990s, was unable to stream into the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday due to the stroke. 

His lawyer, Zoe Davis, told the court De Iulio had suffered a ‘neurological and stress-related stroke’ on October 7 and was undergoing ‘significant rehabilitation’. 

‘It’s not self inflicted in anyway. It is directly related and can be affected by ongoing external influences of stress where he’s specifically ordered to not have such stress,’ she said. 

Ms Davis revealed De Iulio’s plight during an ill conceived quest to suppress information on her client’s charge sheets, which the media had applied access. 

In an extraordinary rant, the Sydney-based lawyer said she had been unprepared for the routine application, telling newly appointed Magistrate Jason Ong she felt it would ‘disrespectful’ to De lulio if the public were made aware of the allegations put by police against him. 

‘If I could appine, I don’t think it would be a respectful or necessary decision when considering the discretion that there is of your honours to perhaps exclude Mr De Iulio in his vulnerable position from the application,’ she said. 

Mr Ong was only appointed a magistrate in September after working as a lawyer and prosecutor for more than 20 years. 

Ms Davis went onto to suggest if De Iulio suffered further from the release of the information, it would be his fault. 

Ron De Iulio in better times. He kicked 29 goals in his first season with the Blues 

 Ron de Iulio kicks during training at Optus Oval in 2000. He would retire the same year 

‘If anything were to happen or there were to be stresses that flowed on from something that may be linked or correlated to an event or inquiries or aggravation that ensued from this being released, I think that the repercussions would far outweigh the benefit of the public interest,’ she told him. 

Ms Davis further submitted that she could not understand how there could be any public interest in the ex-footballer. 

‘It wouldn’t be something that I would be supporting, that something like this, at such an early stage with an individual in a health condition as Mr De Iulio to have something released to the media, where the purpose I wouldn’t really see any benefit at this stage,’ she said. 

Ms Davis said De Iulio had no previous criminal convictions, had made no admissions to the offences and would likely apply to be dealt with via the court’s diversion program, which deals softly with first offenders. 

De Iulio’s matter will return to court next month where he also faces unrelated traffic matters.