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He's got a lot in common with Melbourne, neither has been funny since 2006.

There but for the grace ... Clean slate dream for Magpies left in ruins This could have happened (and could still happen) to any AFL club including ours. Collingwood is strong enough to withstand the pressures that are being applied against the club ... but if this ever happened to us? And let's not delude ourselves about the culture of this club over the past decade. One can only hope that the club and football administrations are right on top of this where our players are concerned?

What a stinking, corrupt and bloated carcuss we have running our game into the ground.

oh well, lets start the team on a regeme of Anabolic steroids.... as long as we tell 'em it is Vitamin b and hide the evidence they will get off right?

In tonight's Footy Classified, each panellist made their big call for the season. When it came to Garry Lyon's big call, he stated that a key GC player will return to Victoria next year. When pressed further, he basically said it was Dion Prestia. I may be drawing a long bow but could Lyon be hinting that the Dees are after him? Lyon obviously has a connection to Melbourne and we all know that Prestia is a life long Dee fan and his parents are influential supporters/members of the club. I'm probably making something out of nothing but how good would this kid be at the Dees! Maybe we could deal Howe to GC if he wants out.

I don't believe anything unless its in riddle form...GNF where are you?

Given the nature of corporate culture these days this finding does not surprise me in the least. The AFL is and has been for some years a conflicted and consequently corrupt organisation.The bottom lines versus an equitable competition, sadly the bottom line won. They stuck their heads in a bucket of sand when Westcoast went off the rails and consequently they are reaping that harvest as we speak. They established the ridiculous three strikes policy and were stupid enough to boast about it. They were stupid enough and greedy enough to throw millions at the folly that is GWS. IF ever an organisation needed to embrace good governance over short term expedience then the time was now. Sadly I feel that we may now be witnessing it's crowning glory of it's capitulation to corruption and the bottom line. I know I shouldn't be surprised, with a straw man in charge could we have ever expected anything less

Oh no. The Essendon supporters are going to be (even more) insufferable.

1.I refuse to watch the "Footy Show" 2. It amazes me that Hughes has a following. He is a remarkably unfunny comedian.

I wonder how Wade Lees feels? He got 18 months purely and simply becuase he co-operated and told the tuth. He never took anything, never even touched it, only admitted to ordering it. Didn't know his supplement contained an illegal ingredient. If he had denied ordering it, would he then have got off? Probably not, he is a VFL player, not an AFL player.

Note sure I understand this reasoning: I thought ASADA only had to prove intent to consume TB4? The above implies that they couldn't reach comfortable satisfaction that they were administered it. No mention of intent? Didn't Wade Lees get done on intent?

Wade Lees replied to my tweet he said "if Asada don't appeal, you will hear my opinion"....interesting

I feel sick

All I wanna say on the matter is that if this was Melbourne, they'd shut us down How fun it is to be a powerful club!

Colin, while I admit I was wrong on my prediction, I have learned more today and can, I think, answer your questions pretty simply. Essendon ran a supplements program that according to the AFL and their own admitted report, was a shambles. They were dealt with by the AFL for their lack of Governance. The Players were charged with attempting to, or actually using, banned substances. The Tribunal had to reach a stage of comfortable satisfaction of guilt. It didn't. Why not you ask? Answer: because the evidence led by ASADA was unsworn, unsigned, not given before the tribunal orally and therefore not able to be properly scrutinised or tested. The Players would have given evidence that they didn't intend to take anything illegal, that they were told what they took was legal and that they basically didn't know absolutely what was injected into them. That then leads to only one conclusion when the ramifications are so serious and that is, that the Prosecution evidence can't be relied on and therefore the Tribunal doesn't get to a Comfortable Satisfaction of guilt. Were Charters, Alavi, etc got at and told not to comply or just protected their own position, maybe/probably. I now think that ASADA may consider not even appealling.

Thanks HH. My email To: WADA CC: ASADA In Australia the Australian Rules Football (AFL) competition has allowed a club (Essendon FC) and its athletes to get away with using PED's. Evidence establishes that the club (EFC) ordered and paid for thousands of injections of performance enhancing drugs. Indepenent inspectors called it a pharmacological experiment. An AFL tribunal have found the players not guilty. Intent to use PED's is an offence under the WADA code. What is WADA going to do to stop drug cheats in sport? It is imperative that drug cheats are banned from sport. Yours, xxxxxxxxxxx Sports lover. http://www.asada.gov.au/rules_and_violations/index.html 8. Administration or attempted administration to any athlete in-competition of any prohibited method or prohibited substance, or administration or attempted administration to any athlete out-of-competition of any prohibited method or any prohibited substance that is prohibited out-of-competition, or assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, covering up or any other type of complicity involving an Anti-Doping Rule Violation or any attempted Anti-Doping Rule Violation.

I've had enough of this Collingwood drag saga. It's been dragging on forever.

Mathew Lloyd on Twitter It doesn t matter what club you barrack for, that is a great result for the game of Australian rules football. Bring on Thursday night!! I replied it was rubbish

Have you Hird? It's all over and Don with. I'll let myself out.

FWIW, he has my vote.

Nah, doesn't work like that. We are the baseline experiment for 'Just Get Games Into Them' and it was such a massive failure that it would be funny if my sense of humour had survived the disaster...

Forgive me for not wailing with anguish at this one. The game has evolved and will continue to do so. It's easy to look back with rose-coloured glasses, but even in the 'halcyon days' of the 90s there was a fair bit of footy that was laughable. If Melbourne won 25 games by a score of 10-9 this season, I'd be so flaming thrilled I'd have to be carted out of the G by St John's on October 3. Is it pretty? No. Is it forever? No. That doesn't mean it is guaranteed to get prettier, but things change. This isn't peculiar to our game though. Recently there was a terrific piece in The Players Tribune by former NHLer Igor Larionov which encompassed some of the thoughts on here. I've included a relevant quote below and the article can be found here: http://www.theplayerstribune.com/miracle-on-ice-hockey-russia/ "The problem is more philosophical and starts way before players get to the NHL. It’s easier to destroy than to create. As a coach, it’s easier to tell your players to suffocate the opposing team and not turn the puck over. There are still players whose imagination and creativity capture the Soviet spirit — Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in Chicago just to name a few. However, they are becoming exceptions to the rule. Many young players who are intelligent and can see the game four moves ahead are not valued. They’re told “simple, simple, simple.” That mentality is kind of boring. Nobody wants to get fired. Nobody wants to get sent down to the minors. If you look at the coaches in Juniors and minor league hockey, many of them were not skill players. It’s a lot of former enforcers and grinders who take these coaching jobs. Naturally, they tell their players to be just like them. Their players are 17, 18 years old — younger than I was when I joined the Red Army team. Say what you want about the Whiplash mentality (or the Soviet mentality), but if coaches are going to push kids at that age, why are they pushing them to play a simple game? Why aren’t coaches pushing them to create a masterpiece? We lose a lot of Pavel Datsyuks to the closed-minded nature of the AHL and NHL."

Yesterday I helped out at the club to prepare for the Breast Cancer Network breakfast/brunch. I must admit I didn't know it was happening, but after pumping up 350 footballs, I knew we were on to something rather big....... What was truly remarkable was the quiet achievement going on and around the club to support and foster this great initiative. The ladies and the staff nvolved who gave generously of their time, to make the preparations, getting tables decorated, gifts distributed, seat allocations, meeting sponsor needs and requirements......it was all happening behind the scenes and during the week when the Club is building up to the first game of the season! Let no-one think that working at a Footy club is an idle proposition, the staff were looking at some long hours just to get this all up and happening. But on reflection there is also a big positive for the club, not just for supporting this, but that with our round 6 game against the Swannies being telecast live on a Saturday night, it showcases both the BCNA to the general population and the Club who are supporting this venture. Some really smart thinking by our management,utilising one of the few opportunities we have to display our wares on live TV. For those who missed the news reports this evening it was refreshing to learn of some good coming from the football community, instead of the stories of the drug cheats invading our game. Jack Trengove acquitted himself well on the clubs behalf, and hopefully the team will acquit themselves equally on the night in question.... http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2015-03-31/trengove-lauds-pink-lady-match

You sure Nathan Jones isn't an inside mid..?

I'm not sure the AFL had any other option. How could they have found the club/players guilty and risk the competition becoming a (bigger than it already is) laughing stock? No parent would want their kid playing Aussie Rules if the AFL had clubs with questionable priorities and drug cheating players? The AFL would never cripple a powerhouse club which has very powerful supporters within the league and wider society. The AFL tribunal has always been about influence and perception, not about what is right. Let's hope ASADA and WADA show some strength and come down hard on them.

Hirds crocodile tears make me sick

We were only wrong to suppose there was even the merest modicum of integrity about the tribunal. There wasnt.The AFL picked three lapdogs and got there farce across the line. Let loose the hounds....real ones with an appetite for fairness and justice. If this stands I can hardly be bothered with footy....even for my beloved Dees.

please God don't let it be Matt Jones

I'm going to laugh if WADA come in and ban them using the same evidence that was collected by ASADA. How corrupt and self serving will the AFL look then?

a mates email - What the? So poor Lachie Keefe and the other bloke have one lousy steak and they are done. Essendon players inject bottles marked with Arnie’s bicept and they are not responsible. My response If it looks like a duck, quack likes a duck and sh#ts like a duck, then it’s probably a duck, unless someone draws a picture of it and call’s it a cow! Unfortunately for Lachie Keefe and friend, they ate said cow!

Also, if the Bombers we so sure this would happen, why the hell did they obfuscate so much? Why the federal court case to try to invalidate the process? I. Just. Don't. Get. It.

Regardless of the outcome, everyone knows they are guilty as sin anyway.

So pathetic to see the bomber fans on social media react as though this has somehow proven they aren't cheats. A non-guilty verdict on the basis of a lack of evidence when the reason there is no evidence is because the accused either destroyed or didn't keep records is a disgrace.

ASADas evidence wasn't compelling enough obviously. End of (this part of the) story. Now lets see if Dees2014 and BBs big bad WADA wolf enters the picture

Yep, we'll just set someone up as the fall guy and pay them off handsomely after the storm dies down.

Just make sure not to keep records. What a farce.

Please don't be Melbourne players.

I really do not see games as being boring, frustrating maybe (especially watching us) but not boring. Predictable games will always be boring, anything predictable is, but I find it intriguing watching teams arm wrestle, who can get the ball out of the congestion, who can use their skills well enough to penetrate the zones, so and so player is wiping the floor with whats his face, but struggles against whosiwhatsit when coming our of the back line. I do not think OUR game can ever be boring.

Media outlets are portraying Lloyd, Thompson and Watson as outsiders giving considered balanced views. Its not professional and poor form.

Bossdog, you are absolutely correct. Enjoyable, watchable football was a highlight of the past and it was so because the game WASN'T congested like it is today. Goals flowed freely, high marks were a highlight, running into space was a delight to watch. The game will NOT evolve as some suggest. It has already evolved into the mess we see today. The Rules must change to stop the Rugby scrum, or U10's game that we see today. Deanox is correct in that the only solution to crowding is to stop players/coaches doing it. Solution: zones For those who aren't old enough to remember...the centre square was introduced to stop crowding at ball-ups. The result: invariably someone gets the ball out into the open and play continues. A simple line down the centre of the ground with a stipulation that a minimum number of players be on either side solves the problem. There is an emergency umpire sitting on his bum who can monitor it. The impediment to the solution has been the likes of Kevin Bartlett who "doesn't want to turn the game into soccer or netball". Trouble is it has turned into rugby instead.

Which is why they must go for 2 years. I have said it before but if it was the Chinese swim team we would all be outraged. If they claimed it was a rogue doctor or coach and won 10 swimming gold medals what would us self-righteous, holier-than-thou Australians be saying?? This should be no dfferent. Off with their heads. And sorry Jobe you cheat, hand back the Brownlow. And while we are at it you cheating scum of a club how about we take the 1993 premiership off you because you were cheating the salary cap....

There is only one thing for the AFL to do and that is honour the memory of ANZAC by removing the two drug-tainted Clubs from participation in the ANZAC Day match. No Collingwood or Essendon! Maybe the Dees vs St. Kilda might be two worthy combatants!

are we nearly there?

This is the best news I have heard for......since I can't remember. The week before round 1 and we have only 3 players missing, two of whom are out for the season. What a simply amazing outcome from the fitness and conditioning staff, it puts us in the best possible position in terms of available manpower for the coming season! Misson said he needed 3 years to get the fitness levels up to the required standard, and it looks like he might have done it without breaking the players along the way.

Pleasure reading a thread that's predominantly about football.

I think we need to stop wallowing in other club's misery. We are no great football team or club ATM and you never know what is around the corner.

Garland has had one bad year after undergoing ankle surgery late in the pre-season. The year prior to that he almost won the Bluey. He needs to show he can get his fitness back but the comparison to Juice Newton is egregious.

I would be. I reckon he has enough credits in the bank after some good years and a couple of very good years that can excuse one bad year. he was clearly our best defender in 2013 and was pretty consistent for 6-7 years playing in a horrible team. He cant have lost that overnight I am always amazed how quickly we turn on our players when they are out of form

I would be. I still believe he has something positive to offer our side going forward.

Cheers Sat, and cheers for the ongoing pre-season training reports. Love you, or hate you, everyone still appreciates the effort.