By Jake Niall
The remaining Essendon players who are facing doping charges at the tribunal will not seek to have their provisional suspensions lifted to play in the NAB Challenge.
The Essendon contingent – which Fairfax Media believes consists of 17 of the 34 players from 2012 who received infraction notices – thus will not play in the AFL's pre-season competition for at least the first two games of the NAB Challenge while the tribunal deliberates. But the AFL and the Bombers are still working through whether the club will field a team in the NAB challenge at all and how this could be managed.
Source confirmed that Essendon players will not seek to have their provisional suspensions lifted because ASADA is unwilling to exclude the pre-season games from any backdated penalty. The players would potentially risk missing more "real" home-and-away games if they play pre-season games and are found guilty by the tribunal.
In effect, the Essendon players are taking the same position as Port Adelaide's Patrick Ryder and Angus Monfries, who have withdrawn from the NAB Challenge for at least the first two games – while Bulldog Stewart Crameri, too, is unlikely to seek to play in the pre-season competition. Ryder, Monfries and Crameri are the only ex-Essendon players still in the AFL system with infractions.
Essendon will have a diminished pool of players.Credit: Getty Images
Essendon will require top up players to field a team against StKilda on March 7 – with its VFL team likely to be first port of call to make up the numbers.
Essendon has 45 players on their senior and rookie lists, of which an estimated 17 are facing the tribunal – the 34 evenly divided between those at the club and those who have left. It has a further eight from 2012 who did not receive infractions.
That would leave 28 players on the Essendon list who could play in the pre-season, but the club has several players injured, and will need top-up players to be able to field a full team.
AFL and Essendon officials were in discussions on Tuesday about whether the club would participate in the NAB Challenge, the players having threatened to withdraw completely – removing the entire list from the pre-season games.
Under the rules, the 34 players are provisionally suspended from playing in all football competitions and those in the AFL can apply to have the suspension lifted so they can play.
But ASADA has indicated that this would have an impact on any prospective penalty if they are found guilty, or in the event that a player wishes to strike a plea bargain deal before the case concludes.
The AFL had proposed a plan in which no 2012-listed players – whether facing the charges or not – would play in the NAB Challenge games, thus protecting the anonymity of the players.