Essendon captain Jobe Watson seems set to keep his Brownlow Medal despite supplements saga

ESSENDON captain Jobe Watson seems set to keep his Brownlow Medal despite the Bombers' supplements saga.

James Hird

JOBE Watson's 2012 Brownlow Medal appears to be secure.

It is understood the AFL Commission will not consider taking the medal if the league decides to charge Essendon over the supplements program in place in his Brownlow year.

Lawyers

Watson would have to be charged and convicted of doping before that could happen.

It is known that the ASADA interim report into the supplements program at Essendon does not contain recommendations that infraction notices be issued against players.

It was revealed on Friday that the complicated and lengthy process that would lead to doping charges has not been started by ASADA.

It is thought the ASADA interim report may detail circumstantial evidence that some Essendon players were given drugs that are on the WADA banned list but the prospect of future prosecution could be limited by poor record-keeping.

ASADA was last week granted new powers to compel witnesses - such as former Essendon sports scientist Stephen Dank - to submit to an interview and has left its investigation into Essendon open.

That means doping charges against individuals could be brought in the future.

James Hird

The AFL is considering only governance issues detailed in the ASADA report - as well as the Essendon-commissioned Switkowski report - as it weighs possible charges against Essendon before this year's finals series.

Watson, held in high regard throughout football, told Fox Footy's On The Couch in June that he believed he had been treated with the WADA banned drug AOD-9604.

"I signed that consent form," Watson said at the time.

"My understanding after it being given through (Essendon doctor) Bruce Reid and the club (was) that I was receiving AOD. (I believed) that it was legal at the time and that's what I was told I was being given.

"The understanding that we had through the advice that we'd got was it was a legal substance. I still to this day believe that we've done nothing wrong."

If Watson was found to be guilty of a doping infraction but had his penalty reduced under the "no fault or negligence" provisions of the WADA code, a decision on the medal would be at the AFL's discretion.

In May, former ASADA boss Richard Ings told the Herald Sun: "In the event that a player is found to have reduced fault, the AFL anti-doping tribunal has flexibility to impose a combination of sanctions, which may or may not include matches, awards and prizemoney.

"The loss of awards for any player sanctioned for a doping violation is not an automatic thing."