Essendon reserves could line up in Round 1 if ASADA issues 34 Bombers doping bansJon Ralph
Herald-Sun
October 10, 2014ESSENDON could be forced to ask the AFL Commission for extra recruits next year if a large group of Bombers are handed drug bans.
The AFL has contingency plans in place if as many as 20 current Essendon players are banned for the first month or more of the 2015 season.
It is accepted that almost all of Essendon’s stars are among those already handed show-cause notices, which could progress into drug bans.
The Bombers continue to state emphatically that no players took banned drugs, confident they will be cleared by an anti-doping tribunal in November.
The AFL refused to discuss those contingency plans on Thursday but it remains a possibility the Dons could be forced to play with a band of kids and rookies.
The Herald Sun understands the AFL would under no circumstances allow Essendon to hand-pick a group of quality VFL players to top up its list until its stars return.
But it is believed it might allow them to play all their rookies to ensure they play a full team.
And it could consider a move like letting players from Essendon’s VFL team to play some AFL games.
Widespread drug bans would almost certainly see Essendon get off to a winless first month of the season, a position it would be hard to come back from.
Essendon has recruited 14 primary listed players and four rookies since the disastrous 2012 season and has a handful of players who were not involved in the 2012 supplements program.
In all 34 Essendon players were handed show-cause notices, with 20 of them still at the club this year.
But by the time a handful of those players are moved on by Essendon and they go to the draft in November, potentially 23 or 24 of the list next year will be untouched by the saga plus rookies.
That means Essendon would be able to field a team if players were suspended, but senior players like David Zaharakis, Brendon Goddard and Paul Chapman would lead a bunch of 1-3 year players.
Zaharakis did not take part in the supplements program while Goddard and Chapman arrived after the 2012 season.
The only certainty is that the AFL would ensure Essendon continued playing rivals in next year’s fixture, with a scenario of the Dons not fielding a team totally unpalatable at AFL House.
Even if Essendon’s players were found guilty at an anti-doping tribunal they could face bans of six months that only included a month of football.
They might be banned from training with the Essendon players for a part of pre-season but seemingly would be back early in the year.
Essendon said it had not even considered a contingency plan, sure ASADA evidence they describe as “weak” and “circumstantial” will see their players cleared.
Five current Cronulla players are serving bans that saw them miss only the last three matches of the home-and-away season.
They are also ineligible for Four Nations tournament which starts next month.
ESSENDON PLAYERS NOT TOUCHED BY THE SUPPLEMENTS PROGRAMB: Kurt Aylett, Sean Gregory, Will Hams
HB: Lachie Dalgleish, Ariel Steinberg, Elliott Kavanagh
C: Dylan van Unen, Zac Merrett, Shaun Edwards
HF: Martin Gleeson, Patrick Ambrose, Orazio Fantasia
F: Nick Kommer, Joe Daniher, Paul Chapman
R: Fraser Thurlow, Brendon Goddard, David Zaharakis,
Inter: Johnny Rayner, Conor McKenna, Jason Ashby, Jason Winderlich
* Most players assembled from past two trade, free agency and draft periods
* Essendon is chasing Gold Coast ruckman Daniel Gorringe and Port Adelaide backman Cam O’Shea.
* Elliott Kavanagh and Jason Winderlich have requested trades
CURRENT PICKS IN THIS YEAR’S DRAFTHave pick No.21 as part of AFL penalties
Could get pick No.17 from Port Adelaide
Then picks 53, 71, 89
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