AFLW Sydney Swans players Paige Sheppard and Alexia Hamilton ...

Two Sydney Swans AFLW players have copped two-game bans after they were handed conditional release orders after being charged by police late last year for possessing an illicit substance.

Court records show Alexia Hamilton and Paige Sheppard were both sentenced to a 12-month conditional release order on January 30 at Waverley Local Court in Sydney.

The incident occurred in December, after the Swans' AFLW season ended with a semifinal thumping from Adelaide on November 18.

The AFL is currently reviewing its illicit drugs policy and the club said it notified the league's integrity unit "as soon as it became aware of the situation last year".

Swans chief executive Tom Harley said the players ad fallen short of the club's standards and their own status as role models.

"I would like to express my remorse and apologise to the Sydney Swans family, my teammates, family and friends for making this mistake," Sheppard said.

"I am fully aware I have made a bad error of judgement and will be working hard to earn back the respect of my teammates."

Hamilton added: "I am extremely embarrassed and apologetic for my actions, and the position I have put my family, friends and teammates in.

"I understand I have significantly broken trust, and I apologise to our members, fans and club partners for that. I accept full responsibility for my actions."

The 2024 AFLW season starts in August with Sheppard and Hamilton set to miss the first two games.

In the men's competition, then-Collingwood forward Jack Ginnivan copped a strike under the illicit drugs policy early last year and was suspended for two matches after admitting to drug use.

Ginnivan, who has since moved to Hawthorn, was also handed a $5,000 suspended fine after footage of him with a substance emerged.

Western Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith also copped a strike and two-match ban in similar circumstances in 2022, after being filmed with a bag of white powder.

Melbourne player Joel Smith's case is treated differently because he tested positive for cocaine on game day.

Smith has been provisionally suspended since October after his positive test following the Demons' win over Hawthorn in round 20 last season.

AAP/ABC