The cheats look like they are going to make the finals.

Unbelievable that this is allowed to occur...

Which cheats?

Which cheats?

Aah yes good point.

The Red & Black efluence was what i am referring to.

September could get very ugly if they win anything

The cheats look like they are going to make the finals.

Unbelievable that this is allowed to occur...

You remember that they were disallowed from playing finals *last* year, right? Do you propose that they just be banned from playing finals every year for the rest of time?

You remember that they were disallowed from playing finals *last* year, right? Do you propose that they just be banned from playing finals every year for the rest of time?

yes. Until it is all sorted out. Absolutely i do.

yes. Until it is all sorted out. Absolutely i do.

Yes! There is logic to this. Nothing has changed - are they guilty or not? This in itself exposes the whole shambles - how can this fiasco have been allowed to go on for so Long?

You remember that they were disallowed from playing finals *last* year, right? Do you propose that they just be banned from playing finals every year for the rest of time?

It has an odd element to this whole thing that they were banned from finals last year but not this year. And yet we are no closer to finding guilt or innocence in the matter.

yes. Until it is all sorted out. Absolutely i do.

This is dumb and illogical. Even if they were guilty then, they're not still doing it, so why punish them over and over again? This could go on for years yet. If they're found guilty, their true punishment will come in time.

What you're asking for falls firmly under the presumption of guilt until proven innocent.

It has an odd element to this whole thing that they were banned from finals last year but not this year. And yet we are no closer to finding guilt or innocence in the matter.

The ban last year was a tokenistic gesture.

This goes to show the sheer stupidity of having an "interim" report and how craven the AFL was in seeking to rid the AFL of an Essendon finals appearance last year.

The Bombers should have been allowed to play in last year's finals. The matter would have been best dealt with after the issue of the final report but Demetriou and co couldn't help themselves. The Federal Court case of last week highlighted the extent of the AFL's attempted meddling and back room deals. My reading of the evidence is that ASADA didn't buy into it in the end and I believe that fact will be one that should influence a decision against Essendon's application.

Had things been done 100% by the book, we would not be where we are now, with a second finals series tainted by this saga.

The Bombers have paid the price for their governance issues and the drugs saga will most likely drag on a while yet so we are stuck with the probability that they will now see finals action. We have to live with it for now but things won't be too rosy for them in 2015/6.

This is dumb and illogical. Even if they were guilty then, they're not still doing it, so why punish them over and over again? This could go on for years yet. If they're found guilty, their true punishment will come in time.

What you're asking for falls firmly under the presumption of guilt until proven innocent.

Disagree. They are as guilty this year as they were last year. Every other club is being compromised because of these pr!cks. If Essen$&@n go deep into the finals and then banned....just great.

Disagree. They are as guilty this year as they were last year. Every other club is being compromised because of these pr!cks. If Essen$&@n go deep into the finals and then banned....just great.

And next year? The year after? The year after that?

Next time one of my kids plays up, remind me to ask you how many times I should punish them for the same crime. After all, they will be just as guilty now as they were before...

Punish the little bastards mercilessly!

Punish the little bastards mercilessly!

spare the rod and spoil the child eh bbo?

spare the rod and spoil the child eh bbo?

Just as the late and great Lordweaver instructed.

And next year? The year after? The year after that?

Yes. BAN THEM FROM FINALS TILL THE CASE IS CLOSED.

Why should one guilty club compromise 17 others?

You can do as you please with your own kids thanks very much.

Little's strategy seems to be to keep on appealing until most of the players implicated have retired, thus minimizing the damage. Fourteen have already left the club; others will leave or be delisted this year.

I'm with Why You Little on this one. Screw em. They're stuffing up the League and damaging us all with their arrogance.

Not likely to happen, of course - unless Middleton decides against them.

From the very beginning, Tim Lane has understood ~ Drugs in sport must be above politics and beanies

Nasher. Its simple. For their orchestrated rorting of a system. For their contempt for the leaugue. For their complete indifference to the health of their charges. For the lack of any remorse or conciliatory shame; chuck them out of the AFL altogether. Charge their board with whatever work safe feels appropriate.

They are a despicable blight on decency.

Nasher - Obviously a time will come when they should be welcomed back into the fold. Just not yet.

Little almost got it right with "go away"

Should be they who do so !!

Nasher. Its simple. For their orchestrated rorting of a system. For their contempt for the leaugue. For their complete indifference to the health of their charges. For the lack of any remorse or conciliatory shame; chuck them out of the AFL altogether. Charge their board with whatever work safe feels appropriate.

They are a despicable blight on decency.

Yay Beelzebub! Out on their asses!

Yes. BAN THEM FROM FINALS TILL THE CASE IS CLOSED.

Why should one guilty club compromise 17 others?

You can do as you please with your own kids thanks very much.

I agree WYL, if there is enough evidence to issue Show cause notices to 34 players, in my opinion there is enough doubt over the matter to make it unfair on the other teams, imagine the team who finishes 9th finding out in two months time 34 players have received infraction notices and shouldn't have been playing in the first place?

It is clear that the Bombers besides the ASADA issue, continue to be a blight on the game because of their leadership.

It is unbelievable when you think that a deal was offered where the players could have stopped playing a few weeks ago and been back on January 1. That combined with a No Fault finding against the players, which meant that they were not drug cheats but rather had been duped into taking drugs.

Given the current state of play how could the leadership have knocked that back and instead taken on ASADA, the AFL, the Government and annoyed the hell out of the other AFL clubs.

If it is not for Insurance reasons then IMO they the Essendon leadership are a pack of d-ckheads.

Not even a solitary ounce of contrition. In fact apparently it the fault of others. Beggars belief really.

I wonder if the ASADA case coming to a head at Cronulla is any indication of what might be to come for Essendon?

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/asada-pain-could-end-soon-for-cronulla-sharks-20140817-10546c.html

This may already have been clarified here somewhere amongst the 285 pages of this thread, but it appears that suspensions apply from the date of issue rather than over the actual season (which to me seems pointless - it may work for sports like cycling and athletics that are run year round, but not for a seasonal sport such as NRL or AFL):

"With the bans expected to be offered to 17 past and present Sharks players believed to be between one month and six months in length, all will be back playing after the first month of next season - if not earlier."