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What i dont get is the constant neglect of the media in not mentioning the thymossin?? drug that was also meant to be administered and is 100% definately banned by everyone,no grey area at all.Did i miss something and it was proven that drug wasnt used,if not why does everypone bang on about aod when the other drug has far more serious implications.
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The 'Dons were invoiced for "Thymosin" but only "Thymosin beta4" is banned. "Thymosin alpha1" is used in hepatitus treatment and isn't banned.
Although why Essendon was stockpiling such a medication is a mystery (perhaps a team bonding exercise went horribly wrong??)
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What I don't really get is why Evans and Robson have not been charged together with the other four. Surely not because they are just no longer there."He was proud of us when we won and he was still proud of us when we lost' Tami Roos about Paul Sept 06.
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I've followed this thing closely from the beginning bit I have to admit that I have become completely bewildered by what has happened in the last 4 weeks and really have no idea what the hell is going on anymore.Today's a draft of your epitaphComment
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"It's up to the rest of the players in the room to make a new batch of premiership players next year," Adam Goodes, triple Bob Skilton Medallist, October 7, 2011.
YOU BETCHA!!!!!!Comment
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Just read the charge sheet. I note that the charges are more 'they failed to take adequate steps to ensure the players weren't administered banned substances', rather than 'they administered banned substances'. The actual charges don't specify the administration of any particular substance, though the narrative does. Unless Essendon are able to pull out a full schedule of what they administered to who and when, then they're screwed.Comment
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Read the charge sheet with lawyers present (ok, we were stuffing around at work) ... Essendon are going to fry.
The letter from the doctor is the BEST evidence; followed closely by the text messages from Hird saying that the Dr is putting the brakes on.
Also, you cannot discount the fact that their captain and current brownlow medalist ADMITTED to being injected.
The browlow should be taken off him. Stat.
Hope it's all over and done with before the finals start.
Kick them to the bottom of the ladder and give someone who deserves it a go.Wild speculation, unsubstantiated rumours, silly jokes and opposition delight in another's failures is what makes an internet forum fun.
Blessed are the cracked for they are the ones who let in the light.Comment
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I actually hope it is sufficiently delayed so that they do get to play finals. They are absolutely no chance of winning the premiership. It is hard to see how they might even hope to compete in week 1, given recent form. And even before their current form slump, they had been shown up against the better teams in the competition. They did scrape an early season win against Freo, but they were lucky that night, and early season form isn't always a great sign of what is to come later in the year.
There are no other teams in the competition who remotely deserve a finals spot. Carlton are in the box seat to finish 9th as things stand, but they have generally been woeful this year.
And if Essendon don't get their points stripped this year, next year's points come into play.
I am still trying to keep an open mind on exactly what went on. Certainly the way the AFL has presented the charges is designed to sensationalise a lot of what went on, and I suspect they will struggle to sustain many of the charges. I am also uncomfortable about what seems to be a very personal attack on Hird - it may well be warranted but I'd like to hear Essendon's defence before apportioning blame. And I hate the way it is being played out in the media in a sensationalist fashion. Who knows exactly where leaks have been coming from but I struggle to believe the AFL haven't been behind many of them.
Nonetheless, the charges are damning, and the 34 page report provides some evidence in support of them. We just don't really know the extent to which it has been taken out of context. If at least some of the more damning charges are sustained, the club deserves a huge penalty. The fact that Essendon were, in a sense, unlucky to be found out (in the sense that had it not been for the ACC investigation, Essendon would never have been outed) makes it even more important that they have the book thrown at them just as a deterrent against any other club ever contemplating repeating some of the mistakes Essendon look like they may have made.Comment
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I would imagine that the AFL's legal team would have been very careful about how they drew up the charge sheet, which is very damning. I am not a big Vlad fan, and there certainly has been a personal clash between Hird and Vlad, but I think Hird has not handled himself well in this whole affair. But given the evidence he is well and truly fighting for his life.
I don't mind Essendon playing in the finals. It will make the 2nd half of the draw very interesting.
I am starting to wonder about how Essendon almost overran us in the 4th qtr. last year. There was something very fishy about the whole Essendon saga last year.
It is hard to see anything but a horror scenario coming out of this. Besides the penalties to the team and management, it would seem likely that many, if not most players will receive infraction notices in due course, and what the implications of that would be going forward into next season. It is a shame that this story has overshadowed the premiership race, and is likely to be the headline story for months to come. If players get 2 year suspensions, it is likely to mean the end of careers for all but a few. The players would probably have a very strong compensation claim against the club. Aside from AOD 9604, it would seem that the evidence points to a number of players given Thymosin beta 4, which is definitely a banned substance which would certainly carry a 2 year penalty.
I simply cannot see what Essendon and Hird's defence could be. I agree with Liz, that we should give them a fair hearing and the right to present their case. Caroline Wilson has a way of getting these things right. There's a lot of Caro hate in the footy world, but she does get the story right most of the time.Comment
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Can a comparison be drawn between Tippett and the Essendon players?
I'll bet that Kurt came out and said "my manager did the deal, told me it was all ok and I signed the papers"
11 weeks for that.
In the case against the Essendon players, ignorance may well turn out to be strength...The difference between insanity and genius is measured only in success.Comment
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As seen thru world sport, ignorance is no defence. No comparisons can be drawn thru Tippett who was suspended/banned by the AFL.
If Essendon players are found to have taken banned substances, either knowingly or not, the bans will not come from the AFL, but from ASADA/WADA and they won't be pretty.
FWIW, I feel very sorry for the players. They are told from Day 1 by the AFL "Don't take anything unless given to you by the club medicos". It appears they have followed that advice to the letter, but are now in more trouble than a first home buyer.
Essendon the club should fry...Driver of the Dan Hannebery bandwagon....all aboard. 4th April 09Comment
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I think the hard line stance taken with Tippett is what I'm going to be most interested in when it comes to the players. I agree, if they've done something wrong but it was on the advice of those they trust then it's basically the same situation as Kurt's defence.
I don't want to see a whole team of players suspended, but will be curious about the AFL's logic as it relates to the Tippett suspension.I knew him as a gentle young man, I cannot say for sure the reasons for his decline
We watched him fade before our very eyes, and years before his timeComment
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He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)Comment
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