New Zealand Rugby Players Association chief executive Rob Nichol told the Rotorua Daily Post Skipwith's situation was a "wake-up call" after the findings were released this week.
"I would say the vast majority of amateur players would not have had any education on the WADA code, but they are bound by it."
He said Drug Free Sport New Zealand was "very delayed" when it started proceedings more than two-and-a-half years after the breaches.
It was in his opinion "very sad and unfortunate, and to a certain extent unfair".
"He [Skipwith] is a victim of an unfortunate set of rules and an unfortunate set of circumstances."
Nichol said in his view the code was "brutal" but the committee gave the bare minimum ban and backdated it as much as it could.
"If there is one thing to come out of this, we would like to see a review of DFSNZ's application of the rules in these types of cases, particularly where amateur players are uneducated and not aware of the rules. They [DFSNZ] have inadvertently cost an amateur player their participation in any sport for two years. Is that [application of the WADA code] really what the code should be trying to achieve?"
Nichol said he was even thinking of raising the issue with the Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson.
"From an NZRPA perspective we do not think the code should apply to amateur-based athletes, or at the very least, we think there should be flexibility in the application of the sanctions for amateur-based athletes.
"We do not condone doping but amateur players do not have the same education about this. It seems at the moment that even if it is not intentional rule-breaking they will still be sanctioned."
Skipwith represented Rotoiti in the 2015 season and was called up to trial for the Steamers that year.
During his last season in Rotorua in 2017 he played for Whakarewarewa.
Whakarewarewa coach, Joe Savage, told the Rotorua Daily Post Skipwith's substance breaches "came as a surprise".
Savage said he himself did not know all the banned substances and repercussions when Skipwith's breaches happened.
"The education at a senior professional rugby level is awesome with doctors and nutritionists making sure that players are not taking anything with banned substances in it. If players are subject to the same rules at an amateur level, they need the same education, and to be told where to get more information."
Savage said Skipwith "was pretty committed, and really serious about rugby" under his coaching, "a good guy off the field".
Skipwith's former Rotoiti coach, Willie Royal, agreed players needed to be better educated about the doping rules.
The Rotorua Daily Post approached Skipwith for comment but was ultimately referred to the New Zealand Rugby Players Association.
New Zealand Rugby players Tukiterangi Raimona and Brandyn Laursen were also suspended for using banned substances in the findings released this week.
The three were charged as part of a wider investigation initiated by Medsafe into the operation of the website Clenbuterol New Zealand.
In a written statement, Drug Free Sport New Zealand Chief Executive Nick Paterson said when the investigation was started, 60 to 100 athletes that had potentially broken the doping rules were identified.
"We are disappointed with the number of athletes that have been caught up in this, and are increasing our education efforts to both elite and recreational athletes to help them understand the anti-doping responsibilities of everyone in sport."
He said there was "always more that we can do" to educate athletes, and new initiatives would be launched in the next three months.
