Essendon looks to save early draft picks amid drugs crisis Jay Clark
From: Herald Sun
August 10, 2013 10:00PMTHE fate of Essendon's early draft picks has become a key battleground in the club's attempts to keep James Hird's coaching career and this year's finals hopes alive.
Essendon remains adamant it did not inject players with banned substances. But the club is likely to face charges of bringing the game into disrepute by the AFL tomorrow or Tuesday for its questionable supplements program.
The Herald Sun can also reveal Bombers' midfielder Brendon Goddard made a series of telephone calls to teammates on Wednesday night to rally flagging morale.
Essendon great Matthew Lloyd said yesterday players told him the mood at Windy Hill was "as flat as it has been and it is getting worse and worse as the weeks roll on".
Hird is not prepared to stand down. Yesterday he was adamant the Bombers should be allowed to play finals.
"We are playing tomorrow, the next week, the next week and the next week because we believe we have a right to play in the finals," Hird said.
"We believe that, so we are not doing all this training that we've been doing over the past six months, we are not risking our players' bodies by going out and playing every weekend for no reason.
"So we believe we have got a right to be there."
It is understood the club would be prepared to fight for Hird and club doctor Bruce Reid in court, potentially dragging out the drugs crisis for years.
But there is also a strong belief at Windy Hill that protecting Essendon's draft picks for the next two years to help build its midfield is equally, if not more, important than competing in this year's finals race.
The loss of premiership points this year could yet provide the club with a clean slate next season. The loss of draft picks for one or more seasons would have a longer-lasting affect.
The AFL has denied it had already determined Essendon's penalty ahead of its next commission meeting on August 26.
But it is believed the club and league representatives are in talks about the legal process that could influence the outcome.
The club will be given time - likely to be 14 days - to respond to any charges.
When asked if he was being told if he was likely to face charges, Hird said: "That's an interesting question that I'd prefer not to answer right now."
Essendon was stripped of its first two picks in 1999 because of a salary cap breach, costing it the chance to secure 200-gamers such as Brad Green (No.19) and Cameron Ling (No.38).
The club's first selection that year was ruckman David Hille (No.40). Then assistant coach, Robert Shaw, said the loss of draft picks would sting the club when midfield stars such as Jobe Watson and Goddard retired.
"This is still an emerging side, the age dynamics are good, so you couldn't see something like that impacting in the short term," Shaw said.
"Where it does start to hurt is four or five years down the track when they are looking at replacing players who are the core of the group and 28 years old.
"Then (Jobe) Watson will be gone, Goddard will be gone, (Brent) Stanton is 27, so it would impact in the longer term, no doubt about that."
Lloyd said the club would look at trading an in-demand forward such as Stewart Crameri or Scott Gumbleton to help make up for any draft pick losses this year.
"If you are out of the draft altogether, you may need to trade someone of that ilk to get the midfield you want," Lloyd said on 3AW.
"You lose draft selections, I think the hurt hits you pretty much straightaway."
He said Essendon's legal battles were affecting its performance. The club has lost its past two games, seriously jeopardising its top-four hopes, with three games left before finals.
The Bombers, who began the round in fifth place, meet West Coast today at Etihad Stadium.
"There was hardly any preparation for Collingwood (last week) because the Dean Robinson interview happened (and) there were more meetings with lawyers than there actually were about football," Lloyd said.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-looks-to-save-early-draft-picks-amid-drugs-crisis/story-fndv8gad-1226694829090
