CAS verdict

[Ringo]

Was not expecting a 12 month ban.  thought they may have upheld the appeal with a lesser ban.  Really believe if the AFL had they banned the players for 6 months in the first instance that would have ended the saga earlier.

Really feel for the players though and the club. Will be interesting to see how motivated they are for the 2017 season.  Could go one way or the other.  Will there be some retirements now as well?

So many issues now for the club and players.

[Nige]

Much as objectively I think this is the right outcome, I'm gutted for the players and for the club because this will likely be a lot more damaging than just the 2016 season...

Well said. I think this is terrible news as a football fan.

This is going to get very ugly, uglier than what it has already been.

[shaker]

Obviously there was evidence how did the AFL miss that ? not good for the players and footy , whats done is done time to move on ..... well done Mr. James Hird

[Torpedo10]

Holy flower! I never actually thought they would get banned!

Oh, and flower YOU MELKSHAM!  >:(

What about Watson's Brownlow? Will the players sue Essendon?

Unbelievable.

This is an AFL decision according to SEN. Either way, it has opened up a whole different topic in those arguing for Watson to lose that Brownlos now that he's been given a "guilty" verdict.

[Torpedo10]

Obviously there was evidence how did the AFL miss that ? not good for the players and footy , whats done is done time to move on ..... well done Mr. James Hird

I doubt the AFL missed anything, obviously those in Switzerland took the same information and interpreted it in a different way.

[GCSkiwi]

Was not expecting a 12 month ban.  thought they may have upheld the appeal with a lesser ban.  Really believe if the AFL had say banned the players for 6 months in the first instance that would have ended the saga earlier.

Maybe, maybe not, kinda depends what WADAs feeling was the whole time - they would have had people across it while the whole ASADA thing was going on, and if they felt the AFL antidoping code had given a cop-out ban they could still have appealed it anyway. I've written about this before in other threads, I've competed in tested events before and the thing about anti doping bodies is that they are necessarily emotionless about this sort of thing. If they suspect doping, they have an outcome they think is right, and an idea of what leeway they will give around it, outside of that they're coming for you. But I suspect you're right, the AFL could have ended this much earlier.

Really feel for the players though and the club. Will be interesting to see how motivated they are for the 2017 season.  Could go one way or the other.  Will there be some retirements now as well?

I think it's very, very bad for the next few years of the club to be honest. 2016 their senior brigade is out, and is likely not allowed to formally train or play AFL at all. So they can keep fit and play socially but that's about it. Meanwhile the 2016 team is full of fill ins, and misses the experience of the seniors, which hampers development of younger players who lack on-field mentors, and also means team dynamic isn't established. And if the 12 decide to sue the club then financials take more of a beating, let alone any appeals they might lodge. Then you've got Woosha who's coaching record is about to take a hammering, though I guess he must have considered this possibility when going for the job

[Nige]

Yeah, I was just thinking about how Woosha's job just got a whole lot tougher in his first year in charge.

I think Goddard's now the captain and most experienced player by quite some distance?

[Donnie Brasco]

[RiOtChEsS]

[Jay]

I think Goddard's now the captain and most experienced player by quite some distance?

This is when you know your club is flowered.

Will they get to keep the #1 pick though once they finish botton? If so it's probably not a bad thing in the long run.

[Drak]

Its not completely devoid of leadership. They aren't going to make the top 8 or anything... but who says they would with their 10 banned players anyway.  Getting more picks in a stronger draft will work out ok, and they can blood Parish, Francis and give players like Mitch Brown and Hartley (Both playing for their careers) a crack.

I feel more for Jobe Watson. I think he is done. He will retire. Its ruined one of the nicest blokes in sport.

And like GCSkiwi said, it will be the 2017 repercussions of their all australian players being out of practice that will hurt.

Do contracts become void because of the duty of care by the club? Could players jump ship?

[Torpedo10]

Piss off back to Carlton Marcz.  :P

I think Goddard's now the captain and most experienced player by quite some distance?

This is when you know your club is flowered.

Will they get to keep the #1 pick though once they finish botton? If so it's probably not a bad thing in the long run.

We've never finished with the spoon before, still think we could avoid it but it'd be a massive challenge.

Has anyone actually sketched up a potential Best 22 without those 12 suspended players?

[frenzy]

Dank will get them off and where is Jimmy

[Purple 77]

Are 2015 retirees eligible for top up players?

If so, Essendon could get some handy players.

[Drak]

We've never finished with the spoon before, still think we could avoid it but it'd be a massive challenge.

Has anyone actually sketched up a potential Best 22 without those 12 suspended players?
[/quote]

Carlton and Brisbane are still fairly hopeless.

And we finished 4 times with the spoon in history. Last one was 1933.

I just put a revised 22 in our Best 22 forum discussion.