I have a sick feeling they will either be cleared or the charges will be so minor that no one will be severely impacted.

if they're cleared id be done with footy

if they're cleared id be done with footy

lol- at least wait for all the appeals to complete, bub

Who does the AFL want to keep - the drug cheats or the sport-loving public? WADA cannot afford to be weak here, and possibly the Federal Government would get involved if the AFL dropped the ball, so that quite possibly the AFL doesn't have the option of saving the drug cheats anyway. How stupid do we think they are? How likely is it that they have no idea what the reactions from WADA and Government are likely to be if they stuff it up? I can't understand how anyone thinks Essendon have any chance here.

If the League attempts to clear or wet tram ticket them then all powers ( WADA) will turn on the league itself. It will be smacked from pillar to post if thats the case. WADA doesnt care about some little pissant game in middle of nowhere, it does however care about remiinding a sporting power it needs to keep its things in order

Gil probably doesnt realise hes playing with fire.. Dumbo did, hence he scarpered !!

lol- at least wait for all the appeals to complete, bub

I said cleared ...

lol- at least wait for all the appeals to complete, bub

So he has the next decade to watch the Dees dc?

So he has the next decade to watch the Dees dc?

correct, od

I see the "Fan Boys" are running with a back page story today saying hird and little think they will be cleared i.e.. the players.

That would make an interesting result.

Not even wet tram tickets would apply.

Im going to assume for a moment that the tribunals outcome will not entirely satisfy WADA. I still think Gil is trying the ol good cop bad cop routine here allowing WADA to be the ogre.

Im curious as to how quickly WADA would get an appeal up , running and heard ?

I see the "Fan Boys" are running with a back page story today saying hird and little think they will be cleared i.e.. the players.

That would make an interesting result.

Not even wet tram tickets would apply.

Goebbels would be impressed

so if the players are not suspended / given minimal suspension, and wada appeal, they can continue to play until the appeal is heard?

so if the players are not suspended / given minimal suspension, and wada appeal, they can continue to play until the appeal is heard?

if they are cleared they can play. If suspended at all, well. no. But am unsure whether a provisional suspension would still apply from expiry of ban til WADA appeal outcome

Something i do take solace in though

Of all the utterances and standpoints taken by any or all of :

Hird, Little, EFC, Robinson, Warner, Chip LG etc etc

lets count how many how many have panned out to be as they thought

( 10 secs of thinking music please )

....

..

dum de dum

...

THAT WOULD BE

NONE !!!!

So they are due to get one right?

If the Bombers players get anything less than 6 months I'll be just about ready to give the AFL away and go and watch local footy on weekends. 6-12 months and I'll still be [censored] off because it will compromise the season and again impact some clubs more than others.

Two weeks to d day

So they are due to get one right?

nah

They're on a roll !!!

Downhill at an ever increasing rate of 'nots'

I find it amusing that the AFL have such creatures as "Integrity Officers" !!!

bruce francis' letter is WOW levels of insane.

bruce francis' letter is WOW levels of insane.

Its all about the 'Matrix' and co-incidences

an interpolated version of the truth I suspect...i.e insert whatever suits your cause

So they are due to get one right?

Like we are due to win the flag?

bruce francis' letter is WOW levels of insane.

Who is Bruce Francis?

He has too much time on his hands.

Very self serving letter.

Nowhere does it state the players are responsible for what goes into their bodies.

I hate Essendon, for lots of reasons - but the key thing here is, our game is on the line. Essendon's behaviour in 2012 was a cancer in the game, and their behaviour ever since has been that of one of those cults that refuse to allow medical treatment. The clock goes on ticking away while nothing is done, more and more speculating on how their defense should go, what indulgences should be granted them, why surgery might be uncomfortable somehow... Watch the thing metastisize if it is not definitively excised.

Of course there should be joy when the disease is absolutely, definitively, permanently dealt with. Heavy penalties will stop the spread, and provide a safe margin around all that was rotten. Since there seems to be doubt about whether this will be achieved, it will be a joy of great relief - not hatred-inspired. We may hate Essendon, but greater than that is that we love the game, and we love sport.

I don't hate Essendon and I don't hate the players. I feel a sorry for them being caught up in this s%&t storm, even if by not following the correct protocols they have made themselves responsible for the outcome. But having said all that I really can't stand Messrs Hird and Little. Their performances yesterday just reinforce my growing abhorrence of these two.

To get up in front of the season launch and in the face of the impending decision come out and say they are confident the players will be cleared is beyond belief. Although not beyond belief for these two utter D'heads. Utter contempt for the whole Tribunal process.

The fact is even if the players get off on the technicality that there wasn't enough evidence to find them guilty, that doesn't mean they are innocent. Neither Hird, Little or anyone else can say with 100% certainty that they are innocent because they have no idea what they took. The sooner these two are expunged from the sport the better.

The thought of not being able to avoid these two gloating if they get off is going to be more than I can stand and for that reason beyond all else I hope like crazy the players go down.

I don't hate Essendon and I don't hate the players. I feel a sorry for them being caught up in this s%&t storm, even if by not following the correct protocols they have made themselves responsible for the outcome. But having said all that I really can't stand Messrs Hird and Little. Their performances yesterday just reinforce my growing abhorrence of these two.

To get up in front of the season launch and in the face of the impending decision come out and say they are confident the players will be cleared is beyond belief. Although not beyond belief for these two utter D'heads. Utter contempt for the whole Tribunal process.

The fact is even if the players get off on the technicality that there wasn't enough evidence to find them guilty, that doesn't mean they are innocent. Neither Hird, Little or anyone else can say with 100% certainty that they are innocent because they have no idea what they took. The sooner these two are expunged from the sport the better.

The thought of not being able to avoid these two gloating if they get off is going to be more than I can stand and for that reason beyond all else I hope like crazy the players go down.

A couple of things here....

If they were so confident the players would get off then why not play them in the NAB games. Obviously the players are not quite as confident.

The other is I'm not so sure they don't know what the players took.

The other is I'm not so sure they don't know what the players took.

If they knew what it was and it wasn't illegal that would be a grounds for being confident they will get off. If they knew what it was and it was illegal you wouldn't think they'd be mouthing off two weeks before the decision saying they are confident they will get off. Then again any sane person would just say nothing pending the decision.

It unfortunately gives us a taste of what we are in for if they get off. Insufferable.

Like we are due to win the flag?

What Flag?