No top ups allowed for us, Port and Dogs

[saintspremiers]

From Patrick Keane at the AFL Sandpit via Twitter: An exception was made for Essendon only because of the number of suspended players on its list so that the club can compete at a basic level

For some reason bratty buried this huge injustice in the Essendope thread.

Please tweet and abuse Keane and the AFL for their stupidity.

Bending over to drug cheats that shouldn't be playing for points this year for starters and shouldn't be allowed their first round pick in next year's draft either.

We all know one discarded hack or elderly former convicted drug user added to our list (definition of a top up) won't make a big difference to us, but it's the principal that counts. Again the AFL stuffs up and could've just, for the sake of 4 players over 3 clubs, just given the green light.

[ripplug66]

From Patrick Keane at the AFL Sandpit via Twitter: An exception was made for Essendon only because of the number of suspended players on its list so that the club can compete at a basic level

For some reason bratty buried this huge injustice in the Essendope thread.

Please tweet and abuse Keane and the AFL for their stupidity.

Bending over to drug cheats that shouldn't be playing for points this year for starters and shouldn't be allowed their first round pick in next year's draft either.

We all know one discarded hack or elderly former convicted drug user added to our list (definition of a top up) won't make a big difference to us, but it's the principal that counts. Again the AFL stuffs up and could've just, for the sake of 4 players over 3 clubs, just given the green light.

That's it SP encouraging abuse. No wonder the world is getting worse with violence and even worse with abuse on social media. The worst part is you don't even want to use it. I'm glad we didn't get it as we may have used it and all it would have done is benefited Sandy and cost us at least 70K. Couldn't give a stuff about other sides and my guess is you couldn't either.

[Kate]

No, the worst part is the AFL's failure to penalise a team that systematically doped it's players with performance enhancing substances in order to gain undue advantage.

[bergholt]

No, the worst part is the AFL's failure to penalise a team that systematically doped it's players with performance enhancing substances in order to gain undue advantage.

You think they haven't been penalised repeatedly over the last three years?

[saintspremiers]

The AFL sanctioned Essendrug for governance issues not doping berg

[Kate]

No, the worst part is the AFL's failure to penalise a team that systematically doped it's players with performance enhancing substances in order to gain undue advantage.

You think they haven't been penalised repeatedly over the last three years?

No they haven't. They got slapped with a limp piece of lettuce for poor governance when the argument was that they "knew nothing". Now we do know, and the AFL wants to let them off scott free.

The question is: Where would Essendon have finished on the ladder in 2016 IF the drug cheats on their list were not suspended?

If the answer to that question is anything other than "last", given that they are now expected to win the spoon, then they are effectively being rewarded for cheating. They will be handed the option of the best young draftee in the land.

SP is right. Given that the inability of Essendon to field a team is a situation of there own making, they should not be able to play for match points. At the end of the year they should be allowed to draft player ONLY after the other clubs (that didn't cheat) have completed their selections.

If that cripples them for a decade plus, then so be it. Hopefully it will act as a damned good deterrent to any other would be Hirds out there who think that mass doping of players is a good idea.

[ripplug66]

No, the worst part is the AFL's failure to penalise a team that systematically doped it's players with performance enhancing substances in order to gain undue advantage.

You think they haven't been penalised repeatedly over the last three years?

No they haven't. They got slapped with a limp piece of lettuce for poor governance when the argument was that they "knew nothing". Now we do know, and the AFL wants to let them off scott free.

The question is: Where would Essendon have finished on the ladder in 2016 IF the drug cheats on their list were not suspended?

If the answer to that question is anything other than "last", given that they are now expected to win the spoon, then they are effectively being rewarded for cheating. They will be handed the option of the best young draftee in the land.

SP is right. Given that the inability of Essendon to field a team is a situation of there own making, they should not be able to play for match points. At the end of the year they should be allowed to draft player ONLY after the other clubs (that didn't cheat) have completed their selections.

If that cripples them for a decade plus, then so be it. Hopefully it will act as a damned good deterrent to any other would be Hirds out there who think that mass doping of players is a good idea.

Firstly I think it is a myth that they got slapped with a limp lettuce leaf. They were kicked out of the finals even before they were found to be guilty and I agree with that decision but its hardly a lettuce leaf. This game is all about making finals and they were kicked out. After the guilty verdict they will again were punished and yes they will get pick one but may lose some or many players in the process. There is no rule that says if you are a drug cheat you must be punished for many years. You get a penalty and then its over once the penalty is served. It wont be over for Essendon next year but it will be for the players. Carlisle can carry on next season and really shouldn't be effected but Essendon, the club, will. I don't heel sorry one little bit but I disagree that they have been hit with a lettuce leaf.

There isn't a club or a player who now doesn't know the consequences so I think the message is out there.

[Kate]

Half the competition misses the finals every year, simply because they were not good enough. If Essendon had been in premiership contention that year it might have hurt, but as it was they were only making up the numbers. But regardless whether you think it was tough or not that penalty was not handed down for the doping, but for governance issues.

The Essendon Football club has not received any official penalty for it's systematic cheating. Any other "hardship" they may have suffered has been the consequence of their own actions.

[ripplug66]

Half the competition misses the finals every year, simply because they were not good enough. If Essendon had been in premiership contention that year it might have hurt, but as it was they were only making up the numbers. But regardless whether you think it was tough or not that penalty was not handed down for the doping, but for governance issues.

The Essendon Football club has not received any official penalty for it's systematic cheating. Any other "hardship" they may have suffered has been the consequence of their own actions.

Their penalty for cheating has been going on for years and will go on for years. Like I said there is no rule that says you suffer for longer than the penalty. They will.

[happy feet]

Half the competition misses the finals every year, simply because they were not good enough. If Essendon had been in premiership contention that year it might have hurt, but as it was they were only making up the numbers. But regardless whether you think it was tough or not that penalty was not handed down for the doping, but for governance issues.

The Essendon Football club has not received any official penalty for it's systematic cheating. Any other "hardship" they may have suffered has been the consequence of their own actions.

Their penalty for cheating has been going on for years and will go on for years. Like I said there is no rule that says you suffer for longer than the penalty. They will.

1996: Essendon Bombers (AFL)
A league and ATO investigation uncovered that the Essendon Bombers had breached the salary cap between 1991-1996. They were fined a total of $638,250: $250,000 in back tax and penalties, $112,000 for draft tampering and $276,250 for breaching the salary cap. They were made to forfeit their first-third round picks in the National Draft and were excluded from the 1997 rookie and pre-season drafts. They are the only AFL team judged to have breached the salary cap in a premiership year (1993).

2002: Canterbury Bulldogs (NRL)
Caught over the salary cap by approximately $2 million over three years. All breaches were due to undisclosed payments. The Bulldogs were fined $500,000 and lost the 37 competition points they had accumulated throughout the season. They were leading the league up until that point.

2002: Carlton Blues (AFL)
Fined $930,000 after breaching the salary cap by $1.37 million during 2000-02. Stripped of their selections in the 2002 national draft (numbers 1, 2, 31 and 34). Their first and second round picks for the 2003 draft were also stripped.

2010: Melbourne Storm (NRL)
The NRL stripped the Melbourne Storm of its 2007 and 2009 premierships, its minor premierships of 2006-8, as well as all its 2010 competition points after discovering a series of salary cap breaches amounting to at least $1.7 million over five years. The Storm was fined an Australian-sporting-record $1,689,00


The AFL created a nightmare by not stripping the EFC of its premiership in 1993. Add to that the ridiculous behaviour of covering up the Coventry sign at Etihad.

[Moods]

I seriously can't believe that we even have the cheek to ask the AFL for top up players. We KNEW that Carlisle was a possibility to be suspended and we went ahead and chose him anyway. Yeah, the bombers have got top up players. I think Port should be allowed to get a top up player for Monfries, but they're the only club with a case - and that's for one player only. We should be grateful that the bombers are paying Carlisle's salary. I even find that outrageous. Carllisle and the rest of them have been banned (whether I agree with the decision or not) therefore they shouldn't be getting a cent - off anyone.

[bergholt]

The Essendon Football club has not received any official penalty for it's systematic cheating. Any other "hardship" they may have suffered has been the consequence of their own actions.

Any hardship they suffer, the rest of the competition also feels. They're not a separate entity to St Kilda, or any of the other clubs, or the AFL, much as we might like to think so. It's one body and the clubs are really just brands. They share in the revenue, they split the profits, they share staff and other resources. The only people who maintain the fantasy that the clubs are in some way separate are the fans.

There's no way the AFL or any of the other clubs would want to over-punish Essendon because it'll just cost everyone. If Essendon were nailed to the bottom of the ladder for five years the comp would make less money from gate receipts, less from TV rights, less from sponsorship. And if the comp makes less money then St Kilda makes less money, have no doubt about that.

It's an entertainment business which is as "fair" as it needs to be so that supporters will keep watching. No more or less than that.

[Jacks Back]

I seriously can't believe that we even have the cheek to ask the AFL for top up players. We KNEW that Carlisle was a possibility to be suspended and we went ahead and chose him anyway. Yeah, the bombers have got top up players. I think Port should be allowed to get a top up player for Monfries, but they're the only club with a case - and that's for one player only. We should be grateful that the bombers are paying Carlisle's salary. I even find that outrageous. Carllisle and the rest of them have been banned (whether I agree with the decision or not) therefore they shouldn't be getting a cent - off anyone.

How can any of those players be getting paid??? It doesn't make any sense. And suing the club for being banned isn't a reason for paying the players.

If this happened at our club though we would be defending our players. We would say that there were no positive tests and no one can be sure exactly what was injected and whether it was an illegal substance. There is also no whistle blower like in the Lance Armstrong case.

But now that they are banned I can't understand how they can be paid.

[BigMart]

No big thing IMO

Not even sure we'd want another player who was not drafted after 2 drafts?!

Makes little difference

[prwilkinson]

No big thing IMO

Not even sure we'd want another player who was not drafted after 2 drafts?!

Makes little difference

Yeah, that's fair enough, but I also see it as an opportunity missed for a young footballer to get a teste of what it's like to be on an AFL list. At the end of the day, now they're just empty spots and the clubs involved were pretty keen to get clarification so it appears from their point of view that they wanted to fill them.

[saynta]

No, the worst part is the AFL's failure to penalise a team that systematically doped it's players with performance enhancing substances in order to gain undue advantage.

You think they haven't been penalised repeatedly over the last three years?

No they haven't. They got slapped with a limp piece of lettuce for poor governance when the argument was that they "knew nothing". Now we do know, and the AFL wants to let them off scott free.

The question is: Where would Essendon have finished on the ladder in 2016 IF the drug cheats on their list were not suspended?

If the answer to that question is anything other than "last", given that they are now expected to win the spoon, then they are effectively being rewarded for cheating. They will be handed the option of the best young draftee in the land.

SP is right. Given that the inability of Essendon to field a team is a situation of there own making, they should not be able to play for match points. At the end of the year they should be allowed to draft player ONLY after the other clubs (that didn't cheat) have completed their selections.

If that cripples them for a decade plus, then so be it. Hopefully it will act as a damned good deterrent to any other would be Hirds out there who think that mass doping of players is a good idea.

Great post.