It would be great to be a fly on the wall and listen to the bartering, the give, the take, and the promised speeches. It would have made for reverting reality TV.
The average rugby league fan could not give a drop kick and punt about Essendon and James Hird except that now that the southern circus is over, will the ASADA focus turn to the Cronulla Sharks next?
Are the Sharks still certain to play in the finals this year after reaching a season high on Monday night defeating the hot pot Roosters?
If the rugby league world is to learn anything from their southern cousins then it is to plan for a quick win/win solution. The AFL and the Essendon Board looked to have achieved a very professional end solutions that, if allowed to, could have dragged on for possibly years.
James Hird was brilliant in launching a Supreme Court action against AFL alleging league boss Andrew Demetriou and his deputy Gillon McLachlan “tipped off” Essendon that its players had taken performance enhancing drugs.
This shock tactic gave Hird great bargaining power which he has now miraculously dropped after being handed down his sentence, which given the accusations is in reality somewhere between a kick up the back side and a slap with a feather.
The AFL commission have outed Hird for 12 months, but hang on, he still will be able to lead the Bombers into the Finals next year and even be the head coach should they win the flag.
The $2m fine handed down to the wealthy Bombers will be a piece of fluff off one of their black and red socks, but will save Hird’s reputed $1m salary.
All legal bills by all Essendon personnel are expected to be met by the Bombers.
The Bombers will suffer from draft picks over the next two years which is their harshest punishment, which is why they have been relegated to ninth this season.
Bombers assistant coach Mark “Bomber” Thompson has been hit with a 30k fine which again the Bombers are expected to pay, but he will likely end up with a substantial raise if he becomes the head coach in 2014 while Hird jogs on the spot in the stand at Windy Hill.
It really is a circus, and if this happened in the corporate world head coach James Hird, assistant coach Mark Thompson and football manager Danny Corcoran would all be gone forever.
Sporting bodies are a forgiving group, more so if you happen to be talented or even a living legend, and more so if you are smart enough to launch a Supreme Court action.
ASADA has interviewed 11 Sharks players, but the NRL has indicated that they will not act until the final report is completed.
Should ASADA find a case against the Sharks, who are certain to win a top eight finals birth, they could be disqualified from this year’s competition, which opens up a new opportunity for the ninth placed club.
The Sharks could do worse than hire the now unemployed James Hird as a consultant.
Glenn Innes
Guest
Scott I remember South Sydney heading to court and from memory they were not exactly flushed for funds at the time.Anyway I wasn't necessarily referring to the Cronulla club, individual players, coaches etc - Solicitors will be busy, mark my words
Greg Catton
Guest
It is just a joke. All teams Nrl and afl try to push envelopes and explore the limits on this issue. Olympics, horse racing, professional football is littered with drug and supplement use. It's our fault. We are like ancient Romans screaming for blood in the coliseum. We thirst for faster fitter stronger athletes and the attractiveness of marketing in sports that make clubs, athletes and trainers yearn for success. Legalise the lot I say and have no tests apart from rec drugs. That way they all can be on an even playing field. This in my opinion has not weakened the great product that is AFL.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Yeah, Essendon Football Club is a cult.
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Midfielder The back room scenes that went down here would make for a gripping doco if the real thruth ever came out, but I have admired how everyone has done a deal and made out like it has been a harsh sentence when in fact it is a feather. My god this guy has doped his entire team and his club have given him an extension.This is equal to Lance Armstrong racing in the Tour de France next year. Go figure!!
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Glenn The Sharks cannot afford to go to court. The Bombers are very wealthy and actually get more internet hits than any club in the country, but the Sharks are chewing the paint of the wall. They would risk going under if they get any more incremental legal bills, especially if players start suing them. The NRLC could just let them die or otfer to bail them out providing they move to one of their hot spots like Brisbane, Perth or NZ. They may not have a choice.
Glenn Innes
Guest
Scott I am interested in why you think the NRL commission ( or whatever it is they now call the games ruling body) don't have to worry about the courts? Is it because NRL players are contracted to their clubs but not the league itself? I guarantee this whole Cronulla fiasco and maybe more is heading to court, not as certain as death and taxes but not far off it.
Glenn Innes
Guest
For a start what do you define as a "drug" peptides are branch amino acids which occur naturally within the body.Athletes have been taking amino acid supplements for decades to help muscle up. Every other day some private lab comes out with a new supplement that claims to produce results that mimic anabolic steroids but are legal under the WADA code Eventually WADA which is a transnational bureaucracy makes a call on whether this new wonder supplement is legal or not. obviously there is a time lag here and it is entirely reasonable to believe that players were using a substance which at the time was legal but was later banned. It is also important that we define legal - vitually anything even Morphine or anabolic steroids is legal if you have a script from a Doctor, so we are talking about offences under the WADA code rather than criminal matters. Rugby League has a history of being more litigious than Australian Football - maybe it is a Sydney thing. but I can see a lot of court action coming in the future.
Dave
Guest
Oikee, the AFL cant pre-empt what ASADA will do. It wouldn't hold up in court which is where Hird and Essendon were taking it. You could call it a smack on the wrist, but until the ASADA or WADA put a status on AOD (the drug in question) it's all that's going to happen. The world is a lot more complicated than 'ban the club' 'fire the players' You can't sit there and write 'I don't care about the drug name, im not interested in the drug taken, I don't care about the drug effects etc...... and have an opinion like you do. Knowing all those facts is what further and more serious charges hinge on.
TW
Guest
Dave, Correctly explained. This is only phase one - To send a message to the other 17 AFL clubs and the other Aussie Rules clubs Australia wide That message is - You have a duty of care to your players and look after our game. Phase 2 is ASADA.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Richo ,you really need to do some research.The Sharks have been fined $150,000 for the 3rd party sponsorship,which initially went unreported and then was self reported by the club.So you are sprouting rubbish. You are also making presumptions because ASADA and the ACC have been looking into this for more than just a year,before the :blackest day"announcement. The coach also was not involved in backing the supplement program. The NRL have allowed ASADA to continue their investigations,and there has been none of the Sharks management ,bagging the NRL in a to and fro ,public slanging match,ripping into each other conflict ,as exhibited by the Essendon and the AFL. I suggest when you are describing ignorant people with regard to rl followers,perhaps you should check your own backyard down south. The glass house is looking rather exposed.
mushi
Guest
I don't either but if it is... then the members are the owners and are "responsible" right? So they can order a spill and basically say everyone that's it you presided over this mess you are gone.
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Dave I think all parties should be congratulated on fast tracking everything. I bet the greedy lawyers would have hoped they could draw it out a bit longer.
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Nom he had no input into unknown teenagers like GI, Folau etc, of course the head coach has input into tried and tested players. There is no point in having them at the club if the coach does not want them. My point Nom which you struggle to comprehend is that Bellamy never paid big money for any boom player. All of his stars he developed himself.
oikee
Guest
Sending a message for the next lot who might think about the use of drugs. I mentioned above what i thought, and shutting the club down was my comment and banning the staff involved for life. Look, the NRL sent a huge message to salary cap cheats, your code hired Gallop, maybe your the fools. who knows. Still, the message was sent, the code and club had to deal with it, and that was just a cap issue, this is drugs and players life and future we are talking about here, not to mention the effects it has on everyone around the game fans and sponsors.. No, i am not interested in the drug taken, the amount, the effects or anything else, if it is illegal, throw the damm book at them and send the next club a message. Essendon got a smack on the wrist and this is not sending a message. The weaker clubs will probably just get weaker and the stronger clubs will go on. Nothing will change. And we all know it. Anyhow. We will see.
Slane
Guest
EFC are saying they don't know what they injected the players with.
V.O.R.
Guest
Midfielder... go back to the soccer forums pal. You will note it is not a QLD club that has the stink about it.... ;) surprised oikee hasn't been on here to celebrate the return of the prodigal son, the Donks big fix.
V.O.R.
Guest
Sledgedross.... Peer reviewed research journal: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043661807000382 Any negligence on behalf of clubs and players is much more costly than your team losing points.
Sledgeross
Roar Rookie
Cancer?
Midfielder
Guest
Scott You question is interesting ... What do NRL fans think .... HHHHHHHmmmm they can think .... what about all those banana benders and then there is oikee and other Pony fans.... HHHHmmmmmm tis an interesting question what do they think ...
Nomonous
Guest
Hird has been found guilty of not knowing what was going on at the club - the ASADA penalties will come later - Bellamy didn't know what was going on at the club - as Bennett says the coach knows everything at a club esp in a professional environment ...