Just to push the boundaries a little...... If I was the AFL I would come down on Essendon like a tone of bricks. I would be urging, privately or publicly, that the maximum penalty be enforced. I would also be looking for club punishments and for as many as possible to be kicked out of the game. I would do all I could to make the club unworkable. Once it was on its knees I would then suggest they might like to move to Tassie. As a relocated team they could access a large fund to re-establish and get back on their feet..... Break them down, get them to do as I require and what I see as best forthe competition and then build them backup.

Tassie Bombers..... Got a ring to it....

jeez chf, you must have it in for tassie big time. they've got enough problems without landing the bummers on them

it's off to romsey for mine

Chip le grand just on 774 discussing, at length, the issue of use of ped's. Missed most of it but at the end was asked if players would be missing part of the season. Chop said well players lawyers don't believe asada have the evidence. Well they would say that would'nt they. He is supposed to be a journalist

Similar people told Hird and Little they had a good chance with their court action and we know how that turned out.

Just to push the boundaries a little...... If I was the AFL I would come down on Essendon like a tone of bricks. I would be urging, privately or publicly, that the maximum penalty be enforced. I would also be looking for club punishments and for as many as possible to be kicked out of the game. I would do all I could to make the club unworkable. Once it was on its knees I would then suggest they might like to move to Tassie. As a relocated team they could access a large fund to re-establish and get back on their feet..... Break them down, get them to do as I require and what I see as best forthe competition and then build them backup.

Tassie Bombers..... Got a ring to it....

The good side of me says

Yeah sounds like a viable proposition!!

The bad side of me says...

"They have systematically held the AFL and the integrity of all other clubs to ransom"

We all know what they have done!

Feverish collusion of clandestine innocence, to save face for a few miserable individuals are very transparent and dishonourable!

The bombers need to see that, loss of inner cabin pressure ,results in almost fatal demise!!

So be it !!

They have brought this on themselves!

Let the Devil take the Hindmost!

Absolutely!

Reliable source.

Fair enough, and of course, there could be nothing in it ... it's just that there are a few of these small tidbits dropping, and they're all one way i.e. players gone. There's yet to be a "I know one of the ASADA lawyers and he says it's going to be hard" leak anywhere.

The few pro-Essendon comments from those "close to the case" are all/only from the players' lawyers. Which of course it's their job to do/say. The day a lawyer comes out with "we're going to go down here" in regards to a client s/he's representing, is the day they set themselves up for a job in a car wash.

Mark Fine on SEN teed off beautifully at Essendrug tonight.

Mark Fine on SEN teed off beautifully at Essendrug tonight.

dam it i love it when finey gets all worked up and tees off. Venom Denham did the same thing this morning. this was posted on twitter from a perth supermarket.

The "Boycott" is just another part of the Essendon Spin machine. Wasn't their PR manager the only Essendon person at the James Hird verdict? That speaks volumes.

The narrative sure has changed hasnt it

Similar people told Hird and Little they had a good chance with their court action and we know how that turned out.

A good lawyer would have told them they had Buckey's chance of winning their case and best to drop it.

Wait.......Thats an oxymoron. I take that back. Of course a good lawyer would have told them their case is a slam dunk to win.

Only good lawyers get the big bucks.

Fair enough, and of course, there could be nothing in it ... it's just that there are a few of these small tidbits dropping, and they're all one way i.e. players gone. There's yet to be a "I know one of the ASADA lawyers and he says it's going to be hard" leak anywhere.

The few pro-Essendon comments from those "close to the case" are all/only from the players' lawyers. Which of course it's their job to do/say. The day a lawyer comes out with "we're going to go down here" in regards to a client s/he's representing, is the day they set themselves up for a job in a car wash.

ASADA doesn't have to leak or mount expensive PR programmes because their case is so strong. There has been very little grandstanding from them and have let the case speak for itself. And you know what, it is slowly dawning on the hird/essendon camp that they are doomed.

The propaganda from the pro essendon press is now more along the lines of the injustice of it all now, rather than their previous approach "they will all get off with backdated sentence and will miss no matches ( they won't), and ASADA has no case (they do, a very strong one).

It doesn't stop the vested interests in this though trying to operate on a political level to get thrm off. Fortunately, they are captives of international arrangements which will not allow the usual political interference to over turn just decisions. It won't stop them from trying though....

So I gather that as well predicted on this thread the problem for the Essendon players if they play NAB Cup is that if found guilty disqualification from playing is back dated to their last game and if thats NAB Cup and its a six month ban then they can't play till around August 2015 whereas if their last game was last September then they are eligible to play again around the end of March or early April hardly missing any of the main season at all. This is all run against the thinking that the Tribunal will make a decision just before the start of the season. Is this correct?

Because if it is what I would like to see is further delays to that decision being delivered till after the first round and Essendon in the same predicament decides this time to play the accused players. Then the decision to suspend for six months is handed down and out they go for the rest of the season.

Bans are NOT backdated to last game. They start from the tribunals decision. Time of provisional suspensions are taken into consideration.

Again not backdated to last game....an Essendon inspired myth.

It was mentioned on BF in one of thread where an EFC fan is holding on to hope that the AFL wanted to negotiate a team penalty rather than individual penalties. Maybe I should point them to this clause in particular the sentence that says "in addition to any Consequences imposed upon the individual Athletes committing the anti-doping rule violation."

Wouldnt they argue they have already paid a team penaltybeing booted out of finals, fined $2m etc...

EFC have been fined by the AFL for effectively sloppy management. Nothing to do with what ASADA will hang them for.

The numnuts on BF suggesting a team penalty are obviously ignorant of the actual procedures and protocols.

Wada/asada will deal with the players on one level and the club as a whole on another....not instead of.

Poor bummers apologists...no idea !!!

The narrative sure has changed hasnt it

only on one side Id say

As I understand it, if the Tribunal found the players guilty, the counsels for both ASADA and the players would make submissions with regard to the punishment appropriate. I am sure that the players counsel would want to minimize the punishments and that ASADA would be looking to make sure the punishment was correct. The last thing they want to do is to have WADA come in with a big stick and appeal the punishments.

I would suggest that at the time of the submissions on punishments there would also be arguments presented as to when the punishments should run from. This could be from the last competitive game, from the time the infraction notices were issued, from the time of the handing down of the guilty verdict or from any other time that was deemed fit.

Once all of the argument is heard then the tribunal would make a decision on the punishment and the time it is to be served from.

All of this talk of any punishment being served from the last time they played is just that, talk.

I can imagine the bleating from Essendon if they do not play in the NAB Cup only to find that the punishment is to be served from the time of the guilty verdict. There is no guarantee that any punishment will be served from the time of the last gamed played.

That is my understanding of the situation.

Nabsolution . . Ireland . . Gaelic boys . . 457's . . crisis over!!

As I understand it, if the Tribunal found the players guilty, the counsels for both ASADA and the players would make submissions with regard to the punishment appropriate. I am sure that the players counsel would want to minimize the punishments and that ASADA would be looking to make sure the punishment was correct. The last thing they want to do is to have WADA come in with a big stick and appeal the punishments.I would suggest that at the time of the submissions on punishments there would also be arguments presented as to when the punishments should run from. This could be from the last competitive game, from the time the infraction notices were issued, from the time of the handing down of the guilty verdict or from any other time that was deemed fit.Once all of the argument is heard then the tribunal would make a decision on the punishment and the time it is to be served from.All of this talk of any punishment being served from the last time they played is just that, talk.I can imagine the bleating from Essendon if they do not play in the NAB Cup only to find that the punishment is to be served from the time of the guilty verdict. There is no guarantee that any punishment will be served from the time of the last gamed played.That is my understanding of the situation.

I agree with you they will (or at least should) want to keep WADA out. The problem is that both the AFL and Essendon seem to have zero understanding of what WADA regards as internationally accepted norms. You have to remember that WADA people neither know nor care about our interesting little sub-culture in southern Australia called the AFL. We care hugely about it, no one more so than me, particularly about the MFC, but they neither care nor understand it. What they do do though is look at the facts about drug taking in sport and they are incredibly thorough and care not a jot about local sensibilities no matter what the sport.

On objective evidence, and based on international precedence, Essendon and the AFL are cooked. There is no escape and they are beginning too realise it. That is why they are turning, Tony Abbott like, to ways of breaking all rules to get out of their previously committed to obligations.

It won't wash, but it is a measure of their desperation that they appear to be trying.

Maybe Australia could secede from WADA, the UN and the Human Rights Commission

Mark Fine on SEN teed off beautifully at Essendrug tonight.

what did he say..

Maybe Australia could secede from WADA, the UN and the Human Rights Commission

...and the Olympics , Commonweath games...in fact....pretty much everything then

...and the Olympics , Commonweath games...in fact....pretty much everything then

in short, lets just withdraw from the civilized world and isolate ourselves from reason, ethical standards, and all criticism. fortress australia. let it roll on.

what did he say..

Basically that it was disgraceful after 2 years that Essendon were still holding the AFL to ransom and now disadvantaging 3 clubs season preparation by wanting to boycott practice games.

They really are going to be loathed by all now...

To my mind it really is very simple....

Essendon can do whatever they wish to do.

They can put their players on a doping program.

They can contest any and all things in the law courts.

They can ignore contracts.

They can put their player's health at risk.

They can compromise the pre-season games.

They can undermine the standing of the club by continuing to employ the likes of Hird.

They can do all that and more as long as they are prepared to accept the consequences of their actions. To date I have seen very little acceptance that their actions may have very adverse consequences. There has already been a backlash against the club by the football public and I believe, no matter what the outcome of the tribunal, they will continue to suffer.

All I have seen is attempts to delay, attempts to quash evidence and testimony on technicalities and blame shifting.

The AFL should be looking to do all they can to support heavy penalties to the players and the club should they be found guilty.

I dislike essendope MORE. Than I dislike Collingwood.