sue

Is that assuming no players are rubbed out? If they are rubbed out, then the team which plays their 'reserves' twice (or before the ban expires) has an extra 4 points over other teams which don't and a boosted percentage (assuming the likely outcome is a hiding). Am I missing something?

Because every so often some journo publishes another ridiculous article, eg. the Bottle, and it is hard to resist commenting on it.

Not that different in my mind IF your neighbour doesn't deserve all that money. If I feel he is only a small step from having stolen it, or doesn't pay his taxes, they are not so different. And with the ratio of CEO pay to average wages having made an astronomical leap in the last 25 years, I see a lot of stealing going on. But I agree, cheating will turn off more people than buying talent, staff and facilities. But back on topic - cheating doesn't seem to have affected many Essendon supporters yet. I have reported one case of an Essendon supporter who even had links to Hird in junior days, having thrown in the towel. But everyone else says their Essendon mates are still delusional. I guess that EFC supporter who posts here a bit (Tim?) is also an exception.

BB, while I agree with you on the drugs issue, I wonder if your statement above is correct. Interest in AFL hasn't declined because 'who has the most money wins', so I suspect that it might not if you replace 'money' with 'cheats'. We are in a 'whatever t takes' culture these days.

Maybe they don't care too much. Won't be long now before technology allows them to paint in the crowd on the TV. They already do it for sound.

I just love those creases.

Ha. I get it. When they are banned retrospectively for a number of matches from a certain date, the 2 International Rules games will count towards the total so they can play regular games 2 weeks earlier. (I know that doesn't make any sense, just reacting to how dishonestly I perceive the AFL operates.)

Would anybody trust anything decided by any AFL Tribunal given the history of the other AFL Tribunal that hands out match-day penalties. If that mob were in charge, the players would get anywhere between a pat on the back to a 5 years ban for identical violations. At least this one is not made up of ex-players and hangers-on so there is some hope.

AFL arithmetic: There are 34 players so divide Saad's penalty by 34, but to be fair multiply by 2 for non-cooperation, so that's around 4 weeks ban.

Agreed - if they make exceptions they are not serious about drugs since as I understand it suspensions are all in the agreements which players have signed up to, so the AFL is safe form being sued if they suspend them. But the article does say an 'exception is expected to be made for..Watson & Fletcher.' It will be interesting to hear how they justify it if they do make an exception.

ABC Grandstand @abcgrandstand Reports around that the #AFL has issued infraction notices to 34 past and present Essendon players for use of banned substances in 2012. and ABC radio reporting saying something about directions hearing on Tuesday

I play an obscure sport in which the question of what drugs can be legally taken was recently raised. Someone pointed to https://checksubstances.asada.gov.au/ where you can check a substance for your sport and gender and get a receipt number to show you have checked a particular substance. I hadn't realised before that it was so easy for a player or a coach to get the info plus proof of what they were advised. Is this new?

As I've mentioned before, I may be in the unusual position of knowing an Essendon supporter who isn't delusional despite his son playing with young James at Ainslie. Actually I should have typed 'ex-Essendon supporter". It remains to be seen if he will give up AFL altogether.

Thank Gough (or God, who I gather may be one and the same) that he stopped appeals to the UK Privy Council in 1975 or Hird could go on forever.

I wonder if anyone has told young James that while getting off on a legal technicality can be a wise move if you face jail time, it doesn't do much for you if the only thing at stake is your reputation and you say you are keen to prove your innocence.

I'm a bit bemused by reports of players putting on an observable amount of muscle in the short 2 months between the end of the season and the beginning of training. I guess it is possible, even outside of the EFC, but I just wonder.

No - he'd be risking his reputation to be so bold (assuming he was indeed bold - I;ve no idea what he said). He could have easily covered his bum by inserting a few weasel words, like 'if all goes well, then he will make a full recovery' which is the equivalent of saying if he recovers he will recover.

Re that challenge to the Board: It's good to see there are some Essendon supporters who are realists and are not self-deluded and mesmerised by Hird and co.

He didn't 'claim' he merely said it raised the possibility. Long bows are the stuff of Demonland and not much respect is shown to a lot of our players, so a tiny bit of disrespect for an oppo coach doesn't worry me much.

Depends who you is. If I'm one of the people getting the almost-free (to me) lunch I'm doing a lot better than the people who pay for products and don't get any free lunches. I've not seen too many knock back a 'free' lunch because they knew they would be paying in the end. They know others will be picking up most of the tab.

Sorry to hear you missed out on business lunches. You may pay a bit very indirectly, eg. less wages, but the bulk is picked up by customers of your firm or the taxpayer.

Hardie from Deakin Uni is at it again on ABC radio. Getting the Fed Police to investigate McDevitt for criminal act in mentioning Dank's name in an interview. This guy will attack anyone but EFC. The fact that he is or was employed as a consultant to EFC doesn't seem to have penetrated the minds of the ABC journos.

If all the charges against him were mysteriously dropped a reasonable conspiracy theory for EFC supporters would be that he has agreed to lie to 'convict' Essendon in return for the dropping of other charges. Sadly for Essendon die-hards, they can't even resort to that.

sorry, I meant it as a poke at Werridee.

What a true supporter. Surely if he fails you should just sob.