Dees2014

That was Cronulla and they drugged for only a matter of weeks, cooperated to the full, and admitted guilt, and even then WADA was uncomfortable with the outcome. ESSENDON is totally different and all issues they persued would make WADA have a less favourable view of them. I'm predicting at least a 2 year ban for the players, and a life ban for Hird and some other staff. That is before Worksafe and maybe the directors' governance issues are raised. There is a long way to go in this.

I am surprised at this assessment from you WJ. Even if it is a closed hearing, it will leak, it always does on this sort of public interest hearing. Truth will out eventually, even if it ends up in Europe. In some ways I hope it gets there, at least it will silence the relentless Hird propaganda machine.They will be left with no where to go. When this is all over, I hope someone will write the expose on the Australian Press, and the totally unprincipled behaviour of very senior Australian journalists. It has been an utter disgrace. Hopefully we will know eventually what favours were given to whom. It could make the Murdoch scandal in London look like child's play.

And I might add in serious dereliction of their directors duties. He has something on them - it is the only logical explanation for experienced directors to operate in such a weak-kneed way.

OD, this suggest nothing of the kind. There are some very powerful voices in the media on Hird's side, so it could at least be argued that public hearing might advantage him. In any case it makes no difference. No amount of grandstanding and "appealing to public opinion" will save him. It is ultimately in the hands of international arbiters, and they will not be swayed in the least by his grandstanding, in fact quite the opposite.

MFC have had many instant "saviours" over the years: John Tilbrook, Peter Moore, Kelvin Templeton, Carl Ditterich to name a few. None of them worked. It was not until Neale Daniher arrived when he took a good list and developed it, that we made progress. I am very wary of magic bullets, it can destroy the fabric of a team, particularly a young team, unless you are very very careful.

For me, the most important thing to address is our ability to lead in the last quarter, and yet lose games. That happened four times last year. Who in our list have the infield leadership skill to ensure that does not happen. First of all let me say something about Jack Tregove. When he was fully fit, he was inspirational in that situation (think port at Darwin and his punch through for the winning point ). Sadly he will not be there, but in the long term, Trengove fully fit will be in our best 3 players and be an inspirational leader. Now to next year. To me, the players capable of taking the team by the scuff of the neck in the last tight quarters are: Captain: Nathan Jones Vice Captain: Chris Dawes Deputies: Viney, Vince, McDonald, Tyson In two of our wins last year Tyson kicked inspirational goals. He is a potential a grader, and future captain IMHO. Future leaders, from all reports are: Brayshaw, JKH (School Captain at Hailerbury, first indigenous Captain of a TAC cup side, scholarship holder at MELBOURNE uni doing Science - a born leader), Alex Neal- Bullen (by all accounts very vocal, and an inspirational leader on the field). A legacy of Roos will be the leadership he has left the club. I think we are in very good hands for the future, far better than the last 20 years. We are very fortunate.

That is a big call. I would say 2016 at the latest, though legal action by players may take longer. Hird's fate though will be known very soon IMHO, and that is the one truly relevant issue. He was the instigator, both of the doping and the cover up. He deserves nothing less than a life ban, and that is what he will get.

SS, you have no need to worry. It won't happen, but it may take longer than everyone thinks.

The AFL will do ESSENDON a favour and rub him out for some time (probably life), which will get them out of any threats from Hird and his wife. The AFL has no interest in giving Hird any more oxygen to further damage the competition, ESSENDON, or itself. He is doomed by the AFL, and WADA, and is totally friendless outside his cabal of cultish supporters and the tame journalists,

ASADA/WADA have no interest, statutory or otherwise in the "viability of the competition". They are there to ensure that their guidelines are followed and to which the AFL and its associate clubs have not only signed on to these rules, but up until Hird and his rule bending associates came along, were enthusiastic supporters. Hird and his supporters seem to think just because these rules do not suit him he can be excused from following them "for the good of the competition"It won't wash. Hird well and truly shot himself in the foot when he became litigious and fought ASADA every step of the way, inside and outside the courts. WADA's record particularly suggests elsewhere in the world that the more parties resist, the harder they will go on appeal to CAS. Their record also suggests they are successful. In my view it will result in at least 2 year bans for most players and in some cases longer although I know some people on here go apoplectic when I say that. From what I am hearing WADA sees life as reasonable for Hird, any thing less will be appealed.

I agree BB. A large part of Hird's PR strategy is to get his acolytes in the media to paint ASADA as weak and disorganised, especially when it comes to speed of delivery, while Hird himself does everything possible to slow the whole process down. As you rightly said, none of this subterfuge will work - the train has already left the station.

It was forever thus!

This is a first class, and in many ways surprising result. It shows we are not only in very good football hands, but now have a first class management team. Well done everyone. The future is now looking even better.

He won't play a game....

It is important to realise as I am sure you do that it is actually the AFL who hands out the penalties. I suspect because of this that the Hirds think they can "get the court of public opinion" to let them off. Fat chance. If the AFL squib it it goes to CAS where it is taken out of Australian influence entirely. The fact that the Hirds think they can influence the outcome of this via their expensive lawyers and their even more expensive PR machine I guess just shows how stupid they really are.

I know she is a sports lawyer and ex ABC sports broadcaster, but haven't heard of her connection to ASADA, but she may well have connections which have added weight and credibility to what he writes. He seems to have serious inside knowledge as to what is going on (which very much coincides with what my contacts tell me), in stark contrast to most of the nonsense which has been written about this in the Melbourne press over the last week.

Quite right WJ. Masters, along with Caro and Patrick Smith seem to be the only journos in Melbourne with any idea about this. The rest are an embarrassment. As I said in an earlier post. Hird and ESSENDON are conducting an orchestrated PR campaign I'm Melbourne to get this thing thrown out. It is no different from his spurious court cases. It is all about he and his wife's sociopathic personalities in as much as he will never take responsibility and never admit he is wrong, even though the regime orchestrated and approved by him has put the long term health of 34 men at risk - men who should be at their peak physical fitness and the prime of their lives. There is no clearer case of gross irresponsibility and negligence. I have the utmost confidence that this game playing by the Hirds will ultimately make no difference. The fact that he and Tania think it does just confirms their paranoid delusions. He should never be allowed near sporting clubs again - and he won't be.

Dank will be crucified by ASADA QCs. His position is so inconsistent and contradictory. I agree though, it would be worth watching.

Well said BD. As I said in an earlier post the Hird/EFC properganda machine has been in full swing in the lead up to the Tribunal hearing in the hope they will influence its outcome. The pattern is very familiar, developed over years by the tobacco industry in their denial about smoking causes cancer and now used extensively by the fossil fuel industry in promoting the so called climate denialist case against climate change. It goes something like this. In the face of overwhelming evidence, pay some tame so called scientist large amounts of money, usually through a so called research institute set up by themselves, and sponsor "in depth studies" which deny the science. Then use their expensive PR machines to discredit the science via their lackies usually in the Murdoch Press and Channel 10. Then claim the science is in dispute. Unfortunately, both in the case of tobacco and climate change the overwhelming evidence is statistically based so there is a fractionally minute possibility that it could be incorrect so this is blown completely out of proportion via these studies. Gettin back to Hird and Essendon...they are latching on to issues such as the doubt about Charter's willingness to appear at the tribunal as an indication that asada's case is about to collapse and then gets tame journalists to write nonsense articles in the AGE and the HS that the whole case is about to be thrown out, presumably rather than in exchange for money which happens for CC and tobacco, in exchange for access and privileged information. The case is not about to collapse - ASADA has more than enough evidence already collected for the case to be successful. And even if it were, then it would be taken up by WADA and heard in CAS under European law away from the political interference and hidden agendas so apparent in Australia. Interestingly, those journos who really know what's going on here and come to it with no baggage, Patrick Smith and Caro Wilson, so far as I am aware haven't written about this so called collapsed case at all in the lead up to the tribunal hearing. They have let their more niave colleagues make fools of themselves, or in the case of Mark Robinson, just continue to make a fool of himself and continue to show why he does not have the integrity or the competence to continue as Chief Football Writer for the HS. MIKE Sheahan must be shaking his head in dispare.

I think we can be a bit too defensive here. Let's face it we are coming from a long way back and we will not regain respect until we start beating top sides. That is the bottom line. Before then, we will all have to continue to endure all the patronising crap that us demon supporters have had to endure for the last six or seven years.. I look forward to the day when we can return the favour, particularly to the Dons, Pies and Blues supporters who appear to be the worst, at least in my world!

I don't hope, I know. We will see over the next months who is right OD: your relentless pessimism seemingly on all things, or my views on informed balance of probabilities. Best of luck!

Interesting comments on O McD. From his highlight looks to have considerable forward half potential as well. With his size, marking ability and speed might turn out to be a great foil for Hogan. Reminds me of Fitz on one of his very good days although a lot better mark.

The EFC/hird publicity machine has been working overtime in the last 48 hours with even normally sensible journos from the Age waving the white flag (with the honourable exception of Caro who KNOWS). These guys are going to look complete fools in a matter of days.

Well, I didn't see it when I was there. I watched it for about 90 minutes and most of the time the new boys were doing very light stuff. I would be surprised if they were thrown into heavy work after that but it might be possible they did a tan or something like that. Certainly none of the TAC cup reporting of him would indicate he lacked a tank.

I think it is more likely that, given our more sophisticated mentoring and management of our new recruits, that they are gradually moved up over the first half of the year, maybe playing no games at afl level over that period. When they are ready they will be launched into the ones, and once there will never leave. Hence my best team for next year includes our "young guns", and excludes those about to retire or be delisted .