http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-players-treat-club-doctors-as-trusted-uncles-20140819-105x3f.html

The secret footballer on club culture.

excellent article.

Only the name is withheld to protect the innocent?

Only the name is withheld to protect the innocent?

James Hird?

Only the name is withheld to protect the innocent?

obviously not from Melbourne

How about the Secret Footballer being Bob Murphy? Senior player, already writes for Age (improving too) and obviously likes to see bands.

How about the Secret Footballer being Bob Murphy? Senior player, already writes for Age (improving too) and obviously likes to see bands.

I hope not

doesnt that guy get enough media coverage already

has he ever made an AA team? I dont see the appeal of him at all

I hope not

doesnt that guy get enough media coverage already

has he ever made an AA team? I dont see the appeal of him at all

Murphy is an intelligent and erudite individual who also happens to be an excellent footballer with a great knowledge of the game and an even greater ability to impart that knowledge through his appearances in the media and his writings in the Age; he has a gift that is very rare in football/sporting circles. Why must he need to have been an All Australian?

If Essendon drag it out until their guilty players have mostly all left, they effectively save the club from being hurt by any penalties ultimately imposed by ASADA. Taking the matter to court has in this way emasculated ASADA - and Essendon appear to be getting away with it.

Who is going to uphold ASADA's jurisdiction over drugs in sport here?

And if the AFL mutely stands by and allows Essendon to treat the regulating authority with such cynical contempt, who is going to bring the AFL to account?

The players are not the villains in this - it is (and increasingly so, audaciously and incredibly so) the Essendon Football club. It is up to the AFL to take action against Essendon for bringing the game into great disrepute by using legal means to sideline scrutiny of their misdeeds, using legal means to render any ultimate sanctions irrelevant, and using legal means to dispute the right of ASADA to regulate the sport. The AFL should delicense Essendon. Nothing else will send the message that doping your players is a bad idea. Delicensing may be extreme, but it is the Essendon Football Club that upped the ante making less drastic measures meaningless.

Murphy is an intelligent and erudite individual who also happens to be an excellent footballer with a great knowledge of the game and an even greater ability to impart that knowledge through his appearances in the media and his writings in the Age; he has a gift that is very rare in football/sporting circles. Why must he need to have been an All Australian?

coz hh said so?

If Essendon drag it out until their guilty players have mostly all left, they effectively save the club from being hurt by any penalties ultimately imposed by ASADA. Taking the matter to court has in this way emasculated ASADA - and Essendon appear to be getting away with it.

Who is going to uphold ASADA's jurisdiction over drugs in sport here?

And if the AFL mutely stands by and allows Essendon to treat the regulating authority with such cynical contempt, who is going to bring the AFL to account?

The players are not the villains in this - it is (and increasingly so, audaciously and incredibly so) the Essendon Football club. It is up to the AFL to take action against Essendon for bringing the game into great disrepute by using legal means to sideline scrutiny of their misdeeds, using legal means to render any ultimate sanctions irrelevant, and using legal means to dispute the right of ASADA to regulate the sport. The AFL should delicense Essendon. Nothing else will send the message that doping your players is a bad idea. Delicensing may be extreme, but it is the Essendon Football Club that upped the ante making less drastic measures meaningless.

WADA perhaps?

tell ya what, Lingy was exactly the same while commentating the game, I was thinking the entire time that I would bet my left one he is at the club next year

he described part of what we were doing in a weird way, and then at quarter time Roosy said exactly the same thing and it just seemed like they have had a serious discussion about the game plan over one of their little coffee dates.

Have you booked in for surgery yet?

If Essendon drag it out until their guilty players have mostly all left, they effectively save the club from being hurt by any penalties ultimately imposed by ASADA. Taking the matter to court has in this way emasculated ASADA - and Essendon appear to be getting away with it.

Who is going to uphold ASADA's jurisdiction over drugs in sport here?

And if the AFL mutely stands by and allows Essendon to treat the regulating authority with such cynical contempt, who is going to bring the AFL to account?

The players are not the villains in this - it is (and increasingly so, audaciously and incredibly so) the Essendon Football club. It is up to the AFL to take action against Essendon for bringing the game into great disrepute by using legal means to sideline scrutiny of their misdeeds, using legal means to render any ultimate sanctions irrelevant, and using legal means to dispute the right of ASADA to regulate the sport. The AFL should delicense Essendon. Nothing else will send the message that doping your players is a bad idea. Delicensing may be extreme, but it is the Essendon Football Club that upped the ante making less drastic measures meaningless.

QFT

Cronulla players have had show cause notices issued does not seem like ASADA is going to fade away any time soon Mr. Little

Cronulla players have had show cause notices issued does not seem like ASADA is going to fade away any time soon Mr. Little

Different set of circumstances though. Apart from anything else, I don't think anyone is accusing ASADA of conducting an ultra vires joint investigation with the NRL.

Different set of circumstances though. Apart from anything else, I don't think anyone is accusing ASADA of conducting an ultra vires joint investigation with the NRL.

Thats true...., but it does seem to indicate that if Dank's involvement is the common link (which it certainly seems to be) that ASADA has a pretty good case to re-issue the show cause notices immediately even if they lose this current court case.

Essendon is refusing to be umpired. Send off.

Thats true...., but it does seem to indicate that if Dank's involvement is the common link (which it certainly seems to be) that ASADA has a pretty good case to re-issue the show cause notices immediately even if they lose this current court case.

Maybe. But it's also possible that Dank provided different supplements to the Cronulla and Essendon players. That he was involved with both clubs certainly sounds alarm bells, but I could see a scenario where his approach at each club differed significantly. I can also see how his engagement at two (or more) clubs can destabilise the chain of evidence. To my mind its entirely possible that supplements found at one club's rooms were only being stored there before being moved to another location for use elsewhere. This is even more likely if he was invoicing one club for supplements he was using at another.

ASADA Show Cause Notices - NRL

Maybe. But it's also possible that Dank provided different supplements to the Cronulla and Essendon players. That he was involved with both clubs certainly sounds alarm bells, but I could see a scenario where his approach at each club differed significantly. I can also see how his engagement at two (or more) clubs can destabilise the chain of evidence. To my mind its entirely possible that supplements found at one club's rooms were only being stored there before being moved to another location for use elsewhere. This is even more likely if he was invoicing one club for supplements he was using at another.

All possible, but not probable. Would appeal to a desperate Essendon supporter.

All possible, but not probable. Would appeal to a desperate Essendon supporter.

Appeals to me because of my law enforcement background. I know how hard it is from the side of law enforcement to prove a case and particularly the importance of confirming the evidence trail.

NRL players being offered a back dated penalty that actually means 3 games out and a NO FAULT finding. You morons Essendon.

NRL players being offered a back dated penalty that actually means 3 games out and a NO FAULT finding. You morons Essendon.

Yes but still guilty of a doping violation..

NRL players being offered a back dated penalty that actually means 3 games out and a NO FAULT finding. You morons Essendon.

Now this gets me. How can you back date a penalty they have not been penalised for in the first place. Well we will suspend you for 2 years but it's ok we're going to count the last 2 years you played and call that the penalty.

I get in the legal system if you have been in remand for an amount of time then that can count, you've actually been locked away but these guys have been playing. The world has seriously gone crazy if this is acceptable to anyone.

NRL players being offered a back dated penalty that actually means 3 games out and a NO FAULT finding. You morons Essendon.

Is it a ploy by ASADA to still wave that in front of essendon I wonder. That Farty Hill mob would have to back track at light speed and redeploy as far as stance goes in order to be able to take on that offer. Id be somewhat surprised if the now-non Bombers didnt think it over seriously.

Theres definitely a game of brinkmanship here. The players could get pseudo clemency ( in a fashion ) but still leaves the club open to an almighty whack , as it ought.

NRL players being offered a back dated penalty that actually means 3 games out and a NO FAULT finding. You morons Essendon.

I thought that the offer was that the "off season" would count as part of their sentence, meaning that they would miss maybe only one month of next season (most were given 6 months). This may work with NRL as players can go and play overseas during the Australian summer and the ban would stop them from being able to do that, but it could never work with AFL as there is no alternative competitions around the planet that their players can go and play with professionally. To allow them to serve part of their sentence in the off season would be no penalty at all.

Another big difference is that the Cronulla thing only involved 15(?) players over a period of a couple or so weeks... the Essendon thing involves 34 players and was run systematically over a period of roughly 12 months. Chalk, meet cheese!