FORMER Essendon champion Tim Watson believes that the AFL has already made the decision internally to strip Essendon of its points over the supplement scandal.
Speaking on SEN with Robert Walls, Watson, the father of current Essendon captain Jobe, believes that the AFL has been preparing the general public for the sanction through leaks to senior journalists such as Caroline Wilson and Patrick Smith.
“The AFL operate, better than a political party the way that they operate, the way that they leak out information,” Watson said on SEN.
“They conditioned, I think the general public, a while ago to this whole idea that points were going to be taken away.
“And you had a number of senior journalists who probably were briefed, you would think. (Caroline Wilson has) been writing that, Patrick (Smith) has been very strong and strident in his view about that as well.
“That came from somewhere, which was probably the AFL. I think they’ve already determined in their own minds, even before this report was handed down at the weekend on Friday that that would be the punishment that was actually afforded to Essendon,” he said.
The first meeting of the AFL commission this month is Monday 12 August, it is likely that Essendon would be given two weeks from this meeting to prepare a response to any possible sanctions.
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THE AFL is set to implement an aggressive form of revenue-sharing in order to help aide equalisation amongst clubs.
Having just returned from a study trip in the United States, Gillon McLachlan today told the media that equalisation is the great challenge of the AFL at the present time.
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HAWTHORN captain Luke Hodge is set to miss two weeks after having surgery on his fractured thumb.
The fracture occurred during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s loss to Richmond.
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CARLTON refuses to give up on eighth place after falling two wins behind Port Adelaide over the weekend.
Midfielder Bryce Gibbs was bullish of the Blues chances and doesn’t want the teams chances hinging on Essendon.
“It’s out of our control. It’s a matter for Essendon and the AFL to work out, but we certainly can’t hope that ninth is going to be good enough this year – not one bit at all,” Gibbs said on Monday.
“Four games to go. We win four games, we make finals. It’s as simple as that.”
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STAR West Coast ruckman Dean Cox has declared he will play on again next year.
Now 32-years old, Cox will now seek one-year deals as he enters the twilight of his career.
Speaking to 6PR, Cox explained that at his age, it’s not wise to plan more than one season ahead.
“I won’t be signing for three years,” Cox said.
“I didn’t think about footy post this year.
“Obviously I still love playing the game and I have that really competitive feeling every time I go out.
“So I want to continue playing footy. But I don’t want to put it more than a season because I don’t know how I am going to feel.”
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ADELAIDE fullback Ben Rutten has re-signed for the 2014 season.
At 30-years of age, the strong-bodied defender has been crucial for Adelaide with the loss of Bock and Davis.
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BRISBANE have re-signed defensive duo Mitch Golby and Ryan Harwood for a further two years.
The pair are now tied up until the end of the 2015 season.
The news follows the re-signings of Daniel Rich, Dayne Zorko and Matthew Leuenburger earlier in the season as the Lions sure up their young playing list.
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AFL second-in-charge Gillon McLachlan was yesterday unable to guarantee that any potential punishments against Essendon over the ASADA investigation would be able to implemented before finals.
McLachlan, having returned from an overseas trip to study equalisation methods, was uncommitted when asked by Channel 9 about the time frame of any action by AFL House.
“We’ll see where the report takes us,” McLachlan said.
The AFL has previously been strong in it’s insistence on dealing with any potential sanctions before September in order to ensure the integrity of the finals.
McLachlan’s response comes after Essendon yesterday confirmed the club was now in possession of ASADA’s interim report, totaling over 400 pages.
Meanwhile, Adelaide Chief Operating Officer Nigel Smart believes that Essendon will lose their points for the 2013 season.
Speaking to ABC Radio, Smart predicted the AFL would hit Essendon hard.
“It will all come out in the report, that’s only a few days away,” Smart said.
“In the end that report will detail what it will detail, but I think Essendon will get hit by the AFL in terms of bringing the game into disrepute and I wouldn’t be surprised if they lose their points for the year.”
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BRISBANE champion Jonathon Brown will consider his future at the end of the season after sustaining a season, and potentially a career, ending injury.
Brown will now face scans to confirm what is thought to be a plantar fascia injury, which occurred during the first quarter of Saturday night’s clash with St Kilda.
Asked about any possible decision to retire, Brown was reluctant to signal any intentions other than to assess his options at the end of the season.
“I’ve said consistently that I won’t make a call on my future beyond this season until the end of the year,” he said.
Brown has played 245 games for the Lions, including being a member of Brisbane’s three Grand Final-winning teams in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
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Port Adelaide utility Paul Stewart is set to miss the rest of the season after breaking his wrist during Port’s come-from-behind victory against Adelaide.
Stewart was assisted off the ground during the first quarter after being tackled by Adelaide’s Jared Petrenko.
Stewart has played 12 games for the Power this year.
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ILLNESS provided Saint Ahmed Saad with an unexpected call up on Saturday night after St Kilda initially left him out of the team due to concerns over his welfare.
Originally not picked by St Kilda in the squad of 25 to play Brisbane, a bout of gastro went through the team allowing the troubled Saint to not only to come into the squad of 25 in place of Trent Dennis-Lane on Friday night, but then also replace Jack Newnes on Saturday night after he was unable to take his place.
Saad managed to gather three disposals and kick two goals as the Saints went down to the Lions by 31 points.
Saad is awaiting the results on his B sample after testing positive for a specified stimulant.
