tested positive in July, played finals in September.
From the AFL website:
"According to a timeline released by the AFL, that sample wasn't tested until August 11. Crowley was notified of a positive 'A' sample result for a 'specified' substance on August 18.
His 'B' sample was tested on September 11 and he received a show-cause notice on September 18 - five days after Fremantle's last game of the 2014 season.
Under the AFL Anti-Doping Code, a player who tests positive to a specified substance may, if they choose, continue to play and train as normal until the result of an Anti-Doping Tribunal.
Crowley kept playing until the end of the season and accepted a provisional suspension, which started on September 25 last year.
The testing of Crowley's 'B' sample was the reason for the delay in issuing the infraction. Crowley himself wasn't formally notified he had tested positive until September, after the Dockers' season had ended at the hands of Port Adelaide."
I'm guessing that waiting until the B sample is tested is standard process, in case the A sample was a false positive. Seems like Crowley and the AFL have done everything above board in this case, and Crowley began his suspension shortly after he was informed he had received a show-cause notice.