Did the verdict surprise you?

[Blues_Man]

I always believed they were guilty..but thought the AFL would protect their golden club...happy when WADA got involved.

 

[Goosecat]

Pretty much what I expected once it was taken outside the protective AFL system.
All the crap apologists, dreamers and manic Hirdite foamers aside, it was plainly obvious to any sensible person Dank had used TB4. He admitted it on radio, he ordered it and it got used.
Once it left the AFL protective confines this was always going to be the result. I understand why the AFL tried to aid EFC by mitigating the ramifications but acknowledge what that means. We have a bunch of AFL leaders prepared to do whatever it takes.

 

[Raymond Rougeau]

Was expecting 2 years but also expected asada to get it right.... kudos to wada for doing their job at least... am still perplexed at the poor players sentiment especially after we know they hid the program from asada and the club doctor - to still play the poor players card at this point is insulting to us the fans

 

[ThirtyFive]

No. I always thought that once it went to WADA and was dtermined by their rules and under the European type of legal system that the players would go.

The main surprise was the revelation that the players had all lied 30 times about taking supplements. That in iteself destroys any argument and/or doubt that one could have that they had consciously not decided to partake. Agreeing to "cover-up" is guilty as sin as under WADA attempting to cheat is just as much an infraction as actually cheating.

Only the most one-eyed dogmatic EFC fan could now still believe that their players and club are not cheats. Well them and Hird.

I raised the "Not answering the drug tester's questions honestly." component at regular doping control sessions a year ago and was howled down by the "Their footballers, not academics" brigade who postulated that, as such, they couldn't be reasonably expected to remember what they had for breakfast that morning. Seemed WADA thought otherwise. Lesson in Honesty 101 - don't lie, cover up and tell mistruths to the drug testers!

 

[TBoyleSuperstar]

not surprised about the guilty verdict, surprised about the severity of the penalties.

 

[bigblackboz]

Not really.

I didn't believe there would be any other verdict than guilty. I thought the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal made the wrong decision and not only that but they erred majorly given the evidence that was released publicly. I don't believe ASADA ever believed they would lose the case. Hence, the appeal being appropriate.

The sentence, I'm not surprised either. A lot of the media don't seem to comprehend the system. It is an 2 year STANDARD ban. I think the sentence was fairly predictable in that regard. I'm not shocked at no significant discount either as the standard is very high on these reductions. I was of the belief they might be suspended to around March 2017 because of how the system works but I think all in all, its a fair sentence and a longer one with less backdating would have made little practical difference.

Fairly predictable unless you are one of the Essendon fan boys or AFL men's club.

 

[Fletched]

A little surprised at the verdict but I was always wary of what the CAS level of proof required would be

I thought if they were guilty it would have been 2 year bans for sure with no backdating

 

[gavaniacono]

Surprised that the only got 12 months, they should have had the full two years with no back dating, show that this is what happens if you try to get an advantage over your rivals.



Winning the last three premierships or watching a club sink just like the Titanic

WHY NOT BOTH ?

It has truly been an amazing time as a Hawthorn supporter watching your team be successful and seeing one of your most hated rivals go down.

Lucky bugga!

 

[Some Idiot]

The result was inevitable from the moment that a biased AFL appointed tribunal handed out a not guilty verdict.
If the people that were handpicked by the AFL in order to get the best chance of a not guilty verdict could barely agree on the verdict - and when the did agree - their argument for not guilty was horribly weak and flawed - there was never any chance that in a more independent Court that there could be any verdict other than guilty.

 

[WhiteCat]

Not surprised

 

[Xtreme]

Not surprised

So you were not shocked to be sitting here ?

 

[Jimthegreat]

Not the slightest bit surprised as the AFL Tribunal had a ridiculous burden of proof considering it's only about comfortable satisfaction. CAS are forever turning over hometown decisions. They're hard to get around in regards to anti-doping. Wasn't a big stretch for that substance to be considered TB4. Also the judges would've taken a very dim view of the lack of records and seen that as a sign of guilt, unlike the AFL Tribunal, who used that to say there was not enough evidence. CAS would've been reluctant to set that precedent. Also, if guilty, you could've bet your arse they'd have found the players culpable as they never one checked what they were taking with ASADA, meaning they took stuff at their own risk. No chance of a "no significant fault finding". First thing that's drummed into you when you take up AFL. Hence getting the book thrown at them was no surprise.

 

[jenny61_99]

We were definitely being conditioned in the last two weeks...bad feelings coming from Essendon camp,tidbits about players not putting any substances on their anti doping forms etc. so I was getting more and more confident for a guilty verdict. Initially thought they'd get a completely backdated penalty, but again, the more info that was let slip, the more I felt no significant fault would be applied. Really thought it would end up being a month or something after backdating, so didn't see the season off coming at all.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

I expected another "can't be sure what was administered", but hoped either way the CAS could at least name one substance. So I was surprised at the guilty finding, even though I thought on balance of probability the [players had been doped even if probably unwittingly.

The CAS findings that the players were willingly complicit came as a surprise as well. As a result, so did the two year suspension. I still don't understand how time playing can count as time served but that's a common thing in these sorts of suspenions.

 

[Jimthegreat]

I'll put my hand up. I thought the chain of evidence required for proving they used TB-4 wasn't established strongly enough and that they would get off.

I also thought TB-4 was the lesser of the 5 main drugs investigated by the ACC which included Hexarelin, IGF-1, CJC and possibly GHRP-6. But those drugs couldn't get close to being established as being used by the players.

Remember, the ACC said this was a systematic doping regime, and they sure as hell didn't base their entire report on TB4, so it's interesting that the whole thing came down to a substance that Dank may have even initially thought was legal.

This all came down to an odd listing of 'Thymosin' on the consent forms, if they didn't do that, they were home free.

Yes, ASADA were very convinced they took hexarelin too but without consents they was no way of pinning it to actual individuals, just the club as a whole, so they didn't pursue it. Good thing "thymosin" was on there otherwise they would've got away with cheating for the same reason.

 

[KM00]

I was surprised - that the AFL tribunal found them not guilty in the first place.

I was completely shocked when I read the reasons for that decision and the standard of proof they appeared to require. It basically set the bar so high that it was pretty much impossible to find someone guilty without a posative test.

I am not surprised that CAS found the players guilty. I am not surprised at the 2 year sanction (though I was scared they may discount it) but I was a little surprised that the panel didnt backdate it further - backdating is totally at their discretion and they tend to use that as they see fit.

I was very surprised by the panel's harsh view of the players actions and the information about the doping control forms

I am surprised (and appalled) at the language and response from the AFL backing the players and Essendon on the day the club is found guilty.

 

[WhiteCat]

So you were not shocked to be sitting here ?

I always believed once WADA appealled they would be found guilty. WADA record show they only appeal when they have a better than even chance of winning. I am happy no.

I want to know what happened? And Why? What were the player given? Are there other clubs involved? What was the AFL involvement?

There seems to have been a lot of bystanders. Why did they do more to stop this?

I believe Hird should be ban for life.

There is a lot a things I don't like about how the Afl handle issues.

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

No, not surprised. For the first time the decision was in neutral hand, away from the manipulative hands of the AFL.

Overall I'm reasonably satisfied with the result. I would've preferred 2 years but a player ban for 2016 on top of a finals ban for 2013 is pretty close. 2 seasons have been ruined so that's a decent punishment.

 

[Blue1980]

I always believed once WADA appealled they would be found guilty. WADA record show they only appeal when they have a better than even chance of winning. I am happy no.

I want to know what happened? And Why? What were the player given? Are there other clubs involved? What was the AFL involvement?

There seems to have been a lot of bystanders. Why did they do more to stop this?

I believe Hird should be ban for life.

There is a lot a things I don't like about how the Afl handle issues.

Is there much to like about how the AFL handles issues. Stage managing self serving arrogant douchebags.
The NRL would be feeling vindicated and rightly so.

 

[Andrew Mc]

Not at all surprised - they put it in the hands of an impartial system, not one that was looking for any way to let them off. And it was always going to be 2 years (even if backdated), as that's simply what the rules say.

 

[Tiger Snake]

guilty of not only being drug cheats but arrogant and condescending to the footy world...
should have got the FULL two years, NO backdating...
the club should lose three years of first AND second round draft choices, be fined $5 million and be given Sunday twilight games...

 

[W.C. Fry]

The only thing I am surprised about is that I agree 100% with every post in a 4 page thread on bigfooty.

 

[jakson68]

Surprised, yes.
Disappointed, no.
The players weren't to blame but they could have said no.
Surely with that many injections, some alarm bells must have gone off.

 

[chelseacarlton]

Cheers

Ok
Let's ......

 

[Tiges1229]

I was hoping it was all over so we can get back to just the footy, but if they appeal and shit again means we will all have another year of this crap.