FOUR Essendon players who were on the club's list in 2012 will play against St Kilda on Saturday in the NAB Challenge after requesting permission from the coaches to participate.

Nick O'Brien, Jackson Merrett, Elliott Kavanagh and Lauchlan Dalgleish – who were all with the Bombers in 2012 when the club's contentious supplements program was underway – have been selected in Essendon's line-up to face the Saints at Morwell.

It is the first time the club has confirmed and cleared any of its players as not facing infraction notices.

The younger players approached the club's coaching group and told them they were keen to take part in the game, a request that was agreed to by James Hird and his assistants.

The move was ticked off by the Essendon leadership group, which understood and respected the players' request.



"Both the coaches and the leadership group agreed that it was appropriate for the four players to be available for selection as they were not involved in the investigation surrounding the 2012 supplements program," the club said in a statement to AFL.com.au.



"The four players who have been named in the squad to play St Kilda on Saturday are not provisionally suspended."

It is understood the rest of the 2012-listed players were supportive of the decision for the group to play in the NAB Challenge.

The remaining players believe their anonymity is still protected.

Excluding Merrett, Kavanagh, O'Brien and Dalgleish, there are 21 players on Essendon's list from 2012.

The move comes after the club, players and AFL had agreed to a plan that all 25 players still at the club who were with the Bombers in 2012 would sit out the pre-season competition to protect the identity of the 17 or so handed infraction notices by ASADA and under provisional suspensions.

"It has been an incredibly sensitive and delicate matter," the club said in a statement last month.

"We respect the importance of player anonymity and support the AFL's proposal to exclude all 2012-listed players from the NAB Challenge to protect the identity of our players with provisional suspensions."

Thirty-four former and present Essendon players were originally issued with ASADA infraction notices.

The Bombers have filled their team against the Saints with 13 top-ups, including recently delisted players and a handful who were already signed with the club's VFL team.

The club had previously believed it would need more than 20 replacement players to fill a team for the NAB Challenge, given injuries and load management for some of its senior-listed players.

Merrett and Kavanagh have been noted as strong performers over the pre-season as they look for improved 2015 campaigns, while O'Brien has also continued to develop through the midfield and forward line.

Dalgleish struggled with a leg injury through last season but is viewed as a possible option off half-back with his dash and damaging left foot.

All four players were drafted at the end of 2011 (Dalgleish as a rookie), with 2012 their first season in the AFL.

The four players fall out of contract at the end of this season.

AFL Players’ Association CEO Paul Marsh said the AFLPA and the other Essendon players supported the four players' decision to play.

He said the original decision that players who were on the list in 2012 would not play in the NAB Challenge was made to protect the identities of those players who received infraction notices.

However he said it was made clear at the time the decision was made that individual players could choose to play if they wished to do so and that subsequent events have reinforced that position.

"The playing group, and the leadership group in particular, were keen to ensure that no player suffered a disadvantage by choosing to sit out of the NAB Challenge," Marsh said.

"The decision by a small number of players to play in the NAB Challenge has therefore been made with the full support of their teammates and the players’ association."