beelzebub

Sue this has been the single biggest single code violation in WADA history. The sporting eyes were very much upon Australia. It was quite interesting to see how much so when travelling recently. If yo think they will just walk away from this now and not keep an eye on whether said punishments are adhered to properly then you , like any club trying it on are in for a surprise.. This one goes on WADA"s mantelpiece !!

I dare say Sue the NRL understand things somewhat clearer than the Loopholers. They know ( at least at the top ) that there is not only a problem but that the public know theres a problem and want it seen to. Contrast this to the Australian Football Laughingstock. Gill and his Dills don't concede much of any problem. What little there is ( npi ) has been dealt with , indeed they , if you ask them ( the AFL ) help and co-operated with the relevant authority In teh manner of the Emperor and his new clothes all is right with footy

The various sports and codes have their accreditation protocols. A no name personal trainer may have none.. If he aids a banned player..he'll never get any !!

If trainer has any accreditation with any sport or such that is signatory to the WADA code and aids a banned player they will be smacked big time. People talk of gray areas but I'd be treading very carefully. Asada/wada will be watching like a hawk. Personally I hope Efc cross the line again.

Well lets close it for now til he's made some more progress. I'm fine with that

Then ASADA will fine the club, take away any accreditation for the trainer and seek additional penalty for the player.

I don't think anyone is wishing JT any ill at all. Some see a ball and call it a ball. Others see a cube and suggest if it was round all over it would be a ball. Nearly every one suggesting JT is top 22 prefaces it with "IF" Takeaway any number of these ifs and maybes and you have reality. He's done exceptionally well to get back this fat but its still far removed from where he needs to be. His footy ability and nouse suggest if he can get through a real Training session he's on about 30. He will have no form and no match fitness. How anyone places him higher can only be speculative dreaming. That's fine....but call it that.

I'm with you

Some absolute gems out of this article btw : "While Akermanis has dodged some of the game's best defenders, he could not escape the wrath of AFL chief Andrew Demetriou yesterday. Demetriou took aim at Akermanis, describing his comments that footballers have used performance-enhancing drugs as stupid and ridiculous. Akermanis said this week he had played on an opponent in Brisbane in 28C who ran him off his legs and he believed his rival was a drug cheat. Demetriou returned fire yesterday. "I think they are just stupid comments and if he has got something to say he should contact ASADA and let them know," Demetriou said. "But there is nothing to support those comments, absolutely nothing to support them and I treat them with the disdain they deserve." No...nothing going on eh Demetriou ?? This bloke was full of so much shlt ( AD ) He has escaped a lot of due scrutiny me thinks !!

Nut the reality is simple. He WAS best 22 He's not now. He may well ( should all planets align etc ) once again attain that but he isnt now nor would he be at any time until he is able to start resuming full training. Even then he'd need form He's lucky to be on the list at all let alone anyone thinking hes top 22

The Magistrate should have applied the max IMHO. Was not an isolated occurrence but an orchestrated program over a protracted time frame affecting a considerable number. Not to mention lengths taken to obsfuscate and cover up.

I think we got it right this time roll on the footy

Dog eat dog Woof !

I'm not underselling what JT might be. That's all but irrelevant. He may or may not be anything. Everything is conjecture. When/if he resumes full contact / full load training then I would think he's top 30. It's folly to think just because he was a high pick and played some good games that he's anything else. He's still got a long way to go. His first games back (if) will be at Casey. He play a few there. Sheer logic says a topp 22 player does not line up at Casey. We need to separate fairytale from reality.

Some funny ideas and comments abound. I rated Parish. Still do but like many see the logic and wisdom of selecting Oliver. Be hard not to make an impact at Essendon... Surely

Might want to live in the now....not the then. The clubs movex forward. He's moved back. If fit and able to kick a football under game conditions he would probably fit amongst the top 30 currently. As he can't as yet its a rather moot.

He was going to a wedding....sheesh. He wouldnt have been training at full gallop anyway.

Fixed

Not sure if referenced elsewhere but found this take very interesting. Dyson Hore-Lacy explains the folly of Gordon's position. Id say one knows his stuff much better than the other The Essendon verdict: the debate continues This ...I like "CAS cases have always been de novo, meaning all issues are examined anew. Advertisement "The reported claim by Mr Gordon that out of the six judges who had adjudicated on the case, four had ruled against banning the players is not an accurate reflection of what actually occurred," Hore-Lacy says. Furthermore, he argues that a reading of the CAS judgment does not support the view its decision was 2-1. He quotes para 151 of the panel finding which reads: "(i) The majority of the panel is comfortably satisfied that all players violated clause 11.2 of the Anti Doping Code and were significantly at fault in doing so; (ii) One member of the Panel agrees with that conclusion save in the case of several players in respect of whom he is not comfortably satisfied that such use is made out." Hore-Lacy says: "Exactly who the players were or how many were identified is not spelt out. "In fact, 18 witnesses gave evidence before the panel. This includes six players who had not given evidence before the AFL Tribunal, although they had been interviewed by ASADA. " Hore Lacy continues: ""The CAS panel observed [para119] that 'it was an odd feature of the case that – it may be for perceptible tactical reasons — no party actually sought to call any of the players to give oral testimony, and those who in the event did appear did so on the initiative of the panel.' "The fact that the panel heard additional significant evidence to what was presented to the AFL Tribunal can explain any apparent conflict in the two decisions." Nail on Head time by DHL: "The sole question should be whether the Essendon players were proved to have taken a banned substance. And if that involves the panel utilising all evidence it had available to it regardless of whether that evidence had been given before the tribunal or not, so be it." The rest of that article goes to explain something I and others had wondered. Why the team was not stood down. The AFL is a very lucky boy imho as given it's recent ventures into playing the code in other countries Id be arguing its NOT a one country sport. Still..... Hore Lacy defines teh nutshell here : Despite the legal furore around the CAS judgment, Hore-Lacy says, "No legal experience is required to digest the factual matters. Dank, a sports scientist, was the architect, instigator and operator of the Essendon Injection program, and who in fact gave the injections to the players. In an interview with Mr Nick McKenzie of The Age, he admitted the use of TB-4 on the players. Some time later he sought to retract it once it had been pointed out to him that TB-4 was a prohibited substance. "That evidence constituted only one strand in the evidence relied upon by the panel. It would be difficult for objective readers of the panel decision to come to the view that it was not open to the panel to decide as it did." Dank the Architect.... Hird the Developer !!!!

It's the off season. The story's a bit different etc. It's the media

Someone's twigged

Not enough players to cater to 55

Was a bit odd wasn't it.

Having HALF the teams in the finals is ridiculous enough.Any attention should be directed at refining the number of finalists not admitting randoms.

Schools back soon ? Hope so