Whispering_Jack

Is it ever too early to start talking about the next draft? Not in my book - especially as the Demons now own a first round draft pick in the 2017 AFL Draft. And I'm not going out on a limb when I nominate Eastern Ranges forward Jaydin Stephenson (DOB: 15/1/1999 Ht: 188cm Wt: 76kg) as one of the sure things for that draft. Stephenson burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old in last year's TAC Cup finals and booted three goals in a losing team in the grand final. He has enjoyed another consistent season and shapes up as one of next year’s most exciting prospects. Naturally Stephenson is a member of the AFL Academy squad:- LEVEL TWO NAB AFL ACADEMY (draft-eligible 2017) Vic Country: Tyrone Hayes, Aaron Darling, Kane Farrell, Aidan Quigley, Lochie O'Brien, Hunter Clark, Luke Davies-Uniake, Oscar Clavarino, James Worpel, Tom De Koning Vic Metro: Jack Higgins, Lachlan Fogarty, Patrick Naish, Joel Garner, Jaidyn Stephenson, Sam Hayes South Australia: Jordan Houlahan, Darcy Fogarty, Thomas Schmusch, Callum Coleman-Jones, Andrew McPherson Western Australia: Jake Patmore NSW-ACT: Charlie Spargo, Jack Powell, Jarrod Brander, Nathan Richards Queensland: Jack Clayton, Connor Ballenden, Brayden Crossley Northern Territory: Dominic Grant Father-son trio headlines Academy squad The signs are that next year's draft will be strong at the elite level and, unlike yesterday's midfield draft, there will be some good tall prospects in the mix. Tall prospects head latest AFL Academy additions As for Stephenson, he suffered a late-season set back when he broke a hand at training and missed the AFL's Under 17 All Stars match but will be back in action for TAC Cup season 2017 and close to #1 (but of course we're all expecting our first pick to be in the high teens). 2017 AFL Draft Prospects Top prospects on show in U17 Futures Game

And in a shock development that caught the rest of the world by surprise, Stephen Dank failed to file the required paperwork today as required by the AFL anti-doping appeal board.

To his credit, you have to admit that he's been the most consistent player in this whole saga.

I don't want to let the cat out of the bag but I can reveal that we're working on the No T$ No B$ straight jacket as we speak.

I take that as a confession on your part and, in accordance with the AFL sanctions policy, ban you from posting for one month backdated to 1 October, 2016.

May I respectfully bring to the attention of posters here that we have now adopted a new regime on derailing threads. The rules are being brought in restrospectively so our team of moderators will start work on Monday at page 1. The process is expected to last about six weeks at the end of which the thread should be reduced to no more than four pages. We look forward to your assistance and co-operation in assisting us with this task. Thank you.

First of all, on Watson's decision to hand back the Brownlow Medal, I say that it's about time. In fact, a decision delayed by three years and five months since the day he admitted this - Jobe Watson admits to injecting banned drug AOD-9604 ESSENDON captain Jobe Watson last night made the stunning admission he took the banned substance AOD-9604, but the reigning Brownlow medallist remains adamant he did nothing wrong. The star onballer said he took the anti-obesity drug after signing a consent form. "I signed that consent form and my understanding, after it being given through (club doctor) Bruce Reid and the club, that I was receiving AOD," he told Fox Sports program On The Couch. Asked if he thought the substance was legal when he was taking it, Watson replied: "that it was legal at the time and that was actually what I was told I was being given." The brazen admission by Watson that he took this now almost forgotten (in the context of this entire controversy) peptide defines the essence of his and the other 33 players' wrongdoing. They might have thought it to be legal based on what they were told but what steps did they take outside the club regime to determine it to be so and why did Watson so confidently make this statement when a very simple search would have revealed AOD-9604 was not an approved substance under the WADA Code even at the time of making the statement? It's true that ASADA later chose not to pursue the AOD-9604 line and went after the players on the "safer" ground of TB4 but the former has never been fully explained or resolved. Why did ASADA drop AOD-9604? WADA boss wants review The statements made by Watson on the programme were breathtakingly arrogant and, when I look at the explanation in the CAS judgement as reported in January, 2016 about the responsibilities of the players in terms of what they allow to be ingested into their bodies, it confirms the view that the players cheated and deserved to be sanctioned. Even in his statement handing back the medal, Watson showed no remorse and in doing so, he was being consistent with the way he regarded his situation in June 2013. I don't believe he was being honourable in any way whatsoever. Secondly, once you expunge Watson as Brownlow Medal winner then it would be an injustice to those who cleanly polled the most votes for them not to be given what is rightfully their award. Jared Tallent deserved to be awarded the Olympic Gold once it was clear that the walker who crossed the line was a drug cheat. The AFL would be acting inconsistently if it failed to follow the same practice as the IOC. Watson might well prefer this because an asterisk against the year would forever draw attention to the drug saga in which he was involved.

As a sideline to this whole controversy, it seems that Stephen Dank's defamation cases against the Nine Network have gone down the toilet* because the man failed to turn up to court/comply with orders - Case dismissed. Dank was ordered to pay Nine's costs of and incidental to each of the proceedings and I wish them the best of luck with that. * most likely the same toilet down which Essendon's drug records were flushed around four and a half years ago.

And treat it with the gravity it deserves.

26. I x Max Gawn plus 1 x Billy Stretch?

The forward they call ‘Bull’ is a roughie for the AFL drafts

You missed a day. We're up to 31 formerly associated with a player who cannot be named on this thread.

No love for the current custodian of the number 33? Queenslander = bananas, surely?

This bloke is a sports lawyer who maintains that Jobe Watson should keep his Brownlow Medal - Here's why the AFL can't strip Essendon's Jobe Watson of his Brownlow Medal I don't quite follow his "logic" in all this. Watson has been found guilty of an anti doping rule violation over a regime of drug injections that took place in the year when he "won" his Brownlow Medal. I don't think it would speak for the AFL's integrity if it relied on the loopholes suggested to allow Watson to keep one of the competition's most coveted personal trophies.

Jack Viney Day and a wet track for the time honoured Cox Plate. Going to Money Valley Red?

Now that we're over this ridiculous free agency and trade period, isn't it time for Mr Leg to do his annual countdown to the draft?

Graham Cornes is an absolute dropkick who has supported the Bombers all the way through the saga. In today's Herald Sun he displays a total lack of understanding of the way the prosecution of the players was carried out - Prove, undoubtedly, that Jobe did it. What he doesn't understand is that CAS decided that Jobe did it in accordance with the legal standard of proof required in anti doping rule violation cases. The Swiss Federal Court has upheld that decision and dismissed the players' appeal. Watson is guilty of an ADRV committed in the same year that he gained the highest number of votes in the Brownlow Medal. Unfortunately for him, that means he should hand it back because he did not win the award for fairest and best player in the competition.

Then again ... I thought it was not possible for the AFL to give Brisbane a priority pick after the way it treated two consecutive applications by Melbourne in 2013 & 2014.

The fact that the AFL is asking Mitchell and Cotchin to put their views on the awarding of the Brownlow shows us the extent to which the AFL has lost the plot. They have conducted themselves appallingly from start to finish.

Law graduate Chris Kaias responds to some of Robbo's "arguments" on Twitter - https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CufL2mkUIAA5j7i.jpg:large

Watson has been found by the Court of Arbitration in Sport to have used a performance enhancing drug during the season in which he won his Brownlow. How is it possible for him to keep it?

The Swiss Court has ruled in the case of the Essendon 34 - Essendon players' final appeal fails Swiss court dismisses Essendon 34's appeal against doping bans The Court said that the players accepted the CAS decision that the hearing before it was de novo. They did not challenge the de novo hearing when they should have done but in any event such a challenge would have failed. In essence, the appeal was a waste of time but perhaps that was exactly its purpose from an Essendon perspective. Another nine months have passed, the players concerned served out their suspensions and the Bombers have emerged without further penalty and a greatly enhanced draft position with the AFL deciding that the club should incur no further penalty other than the three year old governance punishment. I find that incomprehensible. No penalty for creating an environment for drug cheating and no consideration given for the fact that the team's lowly ladder position had something to do with it going through the season without a dozen of their best players as a result, giving them the #1 draft pick next month. I have a problem with Jobe Watson retaining his Brownlow Medal given the outcome of the doping case. Given that the AFL has acted in such a kindly manner to the Bombers and the way it has dealt with other important issues, I would not be surprised to see the AFL wriggling out of making a decision to take away the Brownlow.

The possibility exists that the club might have quietly secured an agreement with a free agent and, knowing that it would therefore not be entitled to compensation anyway as a result, cut ties immediately to give Grimes the best opportunity to find a new home.

There is absolutely little doubt that this thread has been building to an exciting and crescendo over the past few months and reached an exciting moment of climax just before 8:00pm last night as the events at Spotless Stadium unfolded. I am not surprised therefore that nobody has posted here in the interim. Where have you all been celebrating?

Heard Christopher from Camberwell on SEN this morning. He called in after KB and Dr Turf were discussing the possible damage (or otherwise) to the MFC in the event of Jesse Hogan deciding to leave the club and go home to WA. Not sure where he was going with his call but they awarded him free tickets to some Thai lady boy show which he graciously declined.