Skip to main content

Banned Bombers Lose Appeal

 by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

The Swiss Court For Arbitration in Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by the 34 former and current Essendon players. The player were initially cleared by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal, but WADA's appeal to CAS overturned that verdict and the players then launched their appeal against the banishment. With the penalty backdated to account for procedural delays, the players were effectively ruled out of the entire 2016 season.

Read more

Tribunal Announces Essendon Decision

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

THE VERDICT IS IN - NOT GUILTY
The saga that has lasted over two years is finally over with the Anti-Doping Tribunal clearing all 34 players involved in the supplements program.The verdict was unanimous and in a statement Tribunal Chairman David Jones spelled out the reasons:

  • The Tribunal was comfortably satisfied that the substance Thymosin Beta-4 was at the relevant time a prohibited substance under the Code.
  • The Tribunal was not comfortably satisfied that any player was administered Thymosin Beta-4.
  • The Tribunal was not comfortably satisfied that any player violated clause 11.2 of the Anti-Doping Code.

The statement also said that a decision regarding "a former Essendon support person" (read: Stephen Dank) would be made at a later date. Whether or not the full 133-page decision document or part of it will be made public is left up to the players, the club and their lawyers. Leaked copies have apparently reached some in the media. In summary, the panel conceded there was insufficient evidence against the players to establish that they had taken TB-4 and it could not be established that the substance they were injected with was in fact, TB-4. The credibility of the key individuals involved was so low and the chain of custody and record keeping so suspect, exactly what was injected could not be proven.

Read more

Essendon Recruits Replacement Players

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

By mid-February, Essendon had signed five former AFL players - Clinton Jones, James Magner, Mitch Clisby, Mitch Brown and Jared Petrenko - to fill out their list. Several see as it chance to relaunch their League careers. Ex-Bombers Kepler Bradley (who finished at Fremantle last year) and Cory Dell'Olio will also be sitting out the preseason as the pair were with Essendon in 2012. Bradley re-joined his original club West Perth in 2014 but has recently crossed over to Claremont. Dell'Olio joined South Fremantle after two seasons and 16 games with the Bombers. Two others whose seasons are in doubt are Peel Thunder's Leroy Jetta (93 games 2007-2014) and East Perth's co-captain Brendon Lee who joined the club as a rookie in 2011 but played just two games in 2012 before being delisted.
Read more

Essendon Takes ASADA to Court

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

On June 12 ASADA, after 16 months, finally took the first step towards charging Essendon players with the use of illegal substances during the club's 2012 supplements program. ASADA has issued "show cause" notices to 34 past and current Essendon players. The notices are not infraction notices, rather they are notices for the players to respond to and explain why they should not be charged. They have ten days from notification to respond. The notices refer to the use of a peptide known as thymosin Beta 4. There has been no mention of the controversial anti-obesity drug AOD-9604.

Read more

Dockers Burn Off Bombers

Bombers Shot Down

Rick Browner reporting from Patersons Stadium, Perth for AFANA

Essendon players withered on the vine in the stifling 90-degree plus Perth heat and were buried under a burst of third quarter brilliance by the Fremantle Dockers to be overrun by 53 points in their Round 4 clash. Slow and steady was the mantra for both teams during the first part of the match as the strength-sapping temperatures made sustained running almost impossible. The Bombers were patient with the ball and racked up possessions with accurate kicking to teammates in the clear. It was an arm wrestle with the Dockers getting the first couple of goals on the board through Ryan Crowley and Danyle Pearce. Jobe Watson and Joe Daniher evened it up with goals for Essendon, with Watson’s goal surely in contention for goal of the year.
Clarke Flies
He booted it from a very difficult angle deep in the pocket just when a Captain’s goal was needed.





Read more

Tigers Add To Bombers Woes

Brook “Boris” Kilpatrick reporting for AFANA from Australia

Round 22's “Clash of the Sash” was also shaping up as Essendon’s last chance to take a stand and show the football world they were worthy of playing Finals footy. For Richmond, it was once again about rebuilding a franchise and taking it back to the glory days of the 70s, when the Tigers and playing Finals were synonymous.

Read more

Crows Defeat Bombers In Thriller

G Michael reporting for AFANA from Adelaide, South Australia

Adelaide and Essendon were both coming off losses in the previous round making this match a crucial clash at AAMI Stadium on a cold and wet Sunday night. Desperate to alleviate the pain of two consecutive losses, the Bombers needed a stirring win to remain a game clear in the battle for eighth spot, while a Crows’ victory would see them stay in the fight for top spot.

As the Bombers ran out on to the ground they faced the realisation that the game was going to be a hard fought encounter in cold and wintery conditions, as their banner stood torn to shreds from the blustery winds. Bomber Sam Lonergan took advantage of a mistimed defensive clearance from Crow Sam Shaw and kicked the first goal for the game as both teams spent the opening minutes tussling for ascendency. A free kick to first gamer Aidan Riley saw the lead cut back to two points as the Crows goaled. However Essendon quickly responded with goals to both Jason Winderlich and Leroy Jetta, to take a 14 point lead with nine minutes to play in the opening term.

Read more

Bombers Take Dreamtime Honors

Brook "Boris" Kilpatrick reporting for AFANA from Australia

A massive crowd of over 80,000 footy fans streamed into the MCG to witness the Dreamtime clash between the Essendon Bombers and the Richmond Tigers. The game had been built up as a battle between two up and coming teams. The Bombers were sitting pretty near the top of the AFL Ladder with a 6-1 record versus the Tigers who were coming off good wins against Port and Sydney to be knocking on the door of the Top Eight.

Read more

AFL Puts Divers On Notice

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

St Kilda's Brendon Goddard came close to being made an example by the Match Review Panel after a Round 7 incident in which he attempted to milk a free kick against Carlton. The AFL, in an effort to stamp out blatant staging or diving for free kicks, amended the Tribunal guidelines. The ruling, which was introduced at the start of the 2010 season, allows the MRP and umpires to report a player for unsportsmanlike conduct if they feel a player demonstrates "... excessive exaggeration of contact in an unsportsmanlike manner ...". Such conduct could be reportable if an umpire's decision-making was affected, started a brawl or if they felt such behavior was not in the spirit of the game.

Read more

Eagles Fly To Fourth

Keeping their fairytale season on track, the West Coast Eagles moved into fourth position on the Ladder with a decimation of arch rivals Essendon. The Bombers ran out of legs and players as the game wore on in very warm, late winter conditions in Perth.

Read more

Recent content

Shorten URLs

*

Partners

Worldfootynews.com

See Every AFL Match
On Your TV or Device!

 

Subscribe to WatchAFL and see every Aussie Rules match live or delayed! Subscribe at .

We Recommend:

ENJOY 40% OFF SITEWIDE!

  • The future of vitamins is here! Say goodbye to generic multivitamins cluttering your table top. 
  • With Vitable, you get personalized daily vitamin packs tailored to your unique diet, lifestyle and health needs.
  • All you need to do is complete a simple online quiz and unlock your expert recommendation. 
  • Join the 400,000+ people embracing the Vitable way with 40% OFF your first order
  • Use the promo code AFANA40 at checkout.