Hope not.....

[R-1]

I think even at Essendon there's not much doubt management didn't sanction such things.

[ShockOfHair]

I think even at Essendon there's not much doubt management didn't sanction such things.

That does sound the most likely, but if so then Hird and Bomber managed poorly by putting blind trust in their sports scientist/rodeo clown. And if players were asked to sign waivers and the coach didn't know about it....

If it's true, as the ACC alleges, that this goes beyond the medicos and up to the coaches and management - well I'm looking at you NRL, FFA, CA and CA.

[YvonneH]

Just watched AFL media conference on Fox Sports News and think I heard a reference to Sydney in a question to Andrew but cannot be sure as the reporter was not very loud (something which should be fixed as it is frustrating to hear the answer but not the question). Did I get this wrong or is there someone with better hearing than me that could clarify the questiion for me?
Do you think the club will put out a statement as a lot of the NRL clubs have done?

[erica]

If I ran the club I wouldn't be saying ANYTHING publicly at this stage. There's probably a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes, though.

[chalbilto]

If the club is clean (and I certainly hope so) then why not go on the front foot and put out a statement. It would certainly appease a lot of supporters.

[Sandridge]

I hope to god we're clean but we shouldn't assume so, or that none of our players have independently acquired things they shouldn't have.[/QUOTE]

Me too. Must admit I'm feeling a bit sick about this. My heart says we wouldn't be involved in this but my head says you just never know, do you? How many Essendon supporters would have believed a week ago that this would happen to their club? As reigning premiers, we have the most to lose.

[Cosmic Wizard]

Me too. Must admit I'm feeling a bit sick about this. My heart says we wouldn't be involved in this but my head says you just never know, do you? How many Essendon supporters would have believed a week ago that this would happen to their club? As reigning premiers, we have the most to lose.

Agree; the AFL would have come straight out and said all the AFL was clean if the crime commission had given them the all clear.
There is something rotten somewhere, and it will come out.
And it won't just be Essendon, there seems to be tape conversations about various matters which have not been released.
And did anyone see that TV interview with the gym owner, O'Doughty, is that his name?
He was training Essendon players, and knew bikie gang members, and was with one when they were shot.
There is more @@@@ coming, and it won't be pleasant

[liz]

I don't think any club can / will come out and say they're clean because they can't account for the actions of all individuals.

Nothing is close to being proven about Essendon yet, but their pre-season was unusual last year in that they came out publicly and stated that their goal had been to bulk players up. This was at the time when most other clubs seemed to be focussing on endurance more than strength and size. Indeed, I read that when Lyon landed in Freo, he gave his conditioning staff the specific objective of stripping some players of a bit of size with the aim of allowing them to build endurance.

The irony in all of this, if Essendon are found to have made widespread use of even "on the edge" substances, is that their pre-season last year was disasterous. Their early season form suggested they had a squad capable of being extremely competitive but they were completely derailed by soft tissue injuries. A few might be deemed to be bad luck, but not the number they suffered. It is a bit like how Melbourne's alleged tanking activities were so successful in improving the quality of their list. Not.

[Kirkari]

Agree; the AFL would have come straight out and said all the AFL was clean if the crime commission had given them the all clear.
There is something rotten somewhere, and it will come out.
And it won't just be Essendon, there seems to be tape conversations about various matters which have not been released.
And did anyone see that TV interview with the gym owner, O'Doughty, is that his name?
He was training Essendon players, and knew bikie gang members, and was with one when they were shot.
There is more @@@@ coming, and it won't be pleasant

I disagree.

IMO - no code or club is likely to make any blanket claim of innocence, since proving a negative is impossible. Even if they are pretty sure there is nothing to hide they'd be mad to rush to say so. They will, if smart, wait to see what the ACC can prove.

The crime commission is deliberately not giving anyone the all clear. They may well have no evidence at all involving the AFL, but suspicions that need someone to panic and give evidence to prove. Don't expect anyon to be cleared by the ACC for quite some time yet.

Only clubs who know they're in deep do-do are likely to take the mea culpa approach. Which makes me think Essendon is in serious trouble.

[Ludwig]

Premiers Who?

It seems highly probable by the timing of events that Essendon were alerted to the fact that the Crime Commission had implicated them in doping offenses. They were given the opportunity tell their supporters to expect some bad news down the road. All of the insiders are giving every indication that they know a lot of specifics about the situation, but will allow natural justice to determine the course of events. We are clearly being prepared for the worst.

I am extremely disappointed by these revelations. I am not surprised that PEDs are being used, but it would appear that it may be a lot more widespread than I had suspected.

It is sad for all of us Swans fans that in a year that we are Premiers and have so much to look forward to, this issue has to come up and take a bit of shine off our success. This is looking so bleak that we may well forget about Melbourne tanking and Buddy being out of contract this year.

I hope once the the season begins, the game will triumph over this sideshow. Time will tell.

[ShockOfHair]

The irony in all of this, if Essendon are found to have made widespread use of even "on the edge" substances, is that their pre-season last year was disasterous. Their early season form suggested they had a squad capable of being extremely competitive but they were completely derailed by soft tissue injuries. A few might be deemed to be bad luck, but not the number they suffered. It is a bit like how Melbourne's alleged tanking activities were so successful in improving the quality of their list. Not.

Yeah the focus on Essendon is like swabbing the horse that came 10th.

[Big Al]

Re: Hope not.....

It is sad for all of us Swans fans that in a year that we are Premiers and have so much to look forward to, this issue has to come up and take a bit of shine off our success.

While this report is concerning unless the Swans are involved (which I highly doubt) then there's not a chance in hell this will take the shine off the flag for me.

That's not to say there might be individuals at the Swans that might be tempted by all this but I'm super confident the Swans football dept would do everything by the book.

[Reggi]

Like in cycling, I think the thing to look for is a sudde. Ridiculous build up. Some S&don players have a ludicrous build I have suspicions on four clubs.

Frankly we should be pretty safe. If we were doing this Sam Reid would be 100kgs by now

[Triple B]

Like in cycling, I think the thing to look for is a sudde. Ridiculous build up. Some S&don players have a ludicrous build I have suspicions on four clubs.

That's a classic 'on the iPhone whilst trying to stay awake in a meeting' type post....lol

[Legs Akimbo]

Re: Hope not.....

I don't think any club can / will come out and say they're clean because they can't account for the actions of all individuals.

Nothing is close to being proven about Essendon yet, but their pre-season was unusual last year in that they came out publicly and stated that their goal had been to bulk players up. This was at the time when most other clubs seemed to be focussing on endurance more than strength and size. Indeed, I read that when Lyon landed in Freo, he gave his conditioning staff the specific objective of stripping some players of a bit of size with the aim of allowing them to build endurance.
.

The report identifies several peptides which strip fat and build lean muscle mass. This would be invaluable in AFL.