FORMER Port Adelaide coach Matthew Primus says there is no reason why head coaches would not know what was going on in their sports science departments.

In the wake of the scandal enveloping Essendon over possible use of banned supplements, Primus said that, in his experience, coaches and sports science teams worked closely together.

Primus was Power coach for two years before walking away in 2012 and is now an assistant to Guy McKenna at the Gold Coast.

He said good clubs were collaborative in their approach between coaches and sports scientists.

"They get together and decide what they're going to do and what kind of program they're going to put forward," Primus said.

"The senior coach along with the high performance area work hand in hand, pretty closely together in the clubs I've worked with."

Primus said senior administration figures at clubs would likely have a good handle of what was happening in their football departments.

"Footy departments have certainly grown and you keep everyone aware of what you're doing, (which) is pretty important as we've seen," he said.

"Whether it'll change or not ... or just make everyone aware to make sure everyone is on the same page."

Primus said he had never seen any evidence of performance enhancing drugs in his time in the AFL, as either a player or coach.

He said the AFL and drug agencies provided adequate education for players, so there was no excuse for any breaches of prescribed codes.

"I think club doctors do a good job. From my personal point of view I've never come across it (drugs) at Port or up here at the Gold Coast."

Michael Whiting covers Gold Coast news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting