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Neil Craig backs Hird for 2015

Oct 23, 2014

Senior Essendon official Neil Craig is adamant that James Hird will be their AFL senior coach next season.

Hird’s future in the role appeared tenuous at the start of this month after he broke ranks with the club over their unsuccessful joint Federal Court actions.

There was widespread speculation at the time that Essendon were on the verge of sacking Hird because he was going ahead with an appeal against the verdict.

But on October 6, the Bombers released a statement saying they would retain their existing football structure “in the immediate term”.

Chairman Paul Little added it would be “potentially reckless” for the club to make significant decisions while Hird went ahead with his Federal Court appeal and ASADA issued amended show cause notices against current and past Essendon players.

But on Wednesday night, Craig was much more definitive about Hird’s future at Essendon.

“Clearly James Hird is and will be the senior coach of Essendon for 2015,” Craig told SEN.

Craig, who is Essendon’s head of coaching development and strategy, was speaking after the club announced three-time premiership player Mark Harvey was returning as an assistant coach under Hird.

That appointment completes their match-day coaching staff.

But Mark Thompson’s AFL future remains unclear.

Thompson had a successful stint as interim Essendon coach this season while Hird served a 12-month AFL suspension.

Thompson made it clear at Essendon’s best and fairest function that he did not want to return to a senior assistant role.

He is back from an overseas holiday and Craig said Thompson had spoken to Little and chief executive Xavier Campbell.

Craig was hopeful of a decision in the next few days.

“Those discussions need to take their time, because it’s really important for Mark if he wants to stay in footy … and at Essendon, that he has what I would call a meaningful job, that gives him energy and passion to get out of bed in the morning,” Craig said.

In other news from the Bomber’s camp the Essendon players facing potential anti-doping charges have said they want to go before an AFL tribunal as soon as possible.

AFL Players Association chief executive Paul Marsh says the 34 current and past Bombers do not intend to respond to their show-cause notices.

He said the players will not contest the next stage of the process, the Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel.

But they want their cases fast-tracked so they can go before the AFL anti-doping tribunal.

Marsh’s statement means that, for now, the players will not seek any deals with ASADA over their anti-doping cases.

“The players affirmed their commitment to seek an expeditious process to give them the opportunity to remove the cloud that has hung over them for almost two years,” Marsh said.

“The onus of proving the allegations against the players that they were administered the prohibited substance Thymosin Beta 4, rests with the AFL.

“While ASADA is only required to demonstrate to the Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel a possibility of a violation, the much higher standard proof of comfortable satisfaction is required to be proved by the AFL at the AFL Anti-Doping tribunal.”

Marsh said the players want ASADA to bring the matter before the violation panel within seven days.

“In the event that ASADA is not able to meet that timeline, ASADA has been requested to simultaneously provide the AFL General Counsel and the players legal team with all the documentation and evidentiary material it has in this matter so that the matter can be dealt with in accordance with the AFL Anti-Doping Code,” Marsh said.

“We urge ASADA to take all necessary steps to accede to the players request for this matter to be fast-tracked.”

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