He said after a review of the evidence, he had formed the view "the parties had a case to answer". He said all parties had been informed of the charges. Essendon coach James Hird speaks to waiting media at Windy Hill on Tuesday afternoon. Credit:Wayne Taylor Dillon said no player would be served an infraction notice - at this time. ‘‘In relation to the Essendon players I can advise that although WADA has declared AOD9604 is a banned substance, on the information currently before the AFL there is no specific anti-doping rule violation attributed to any individual player for the use of AOD9604 or any other prohibited substance,’’ Dillon said. ‘‘As such at the present time there will be no infraction notices issued under the AFL anti-doping code.

‘‘I note the investigation into Essendon’s 2011-12 supplements program by ASADA and the AFL remains open and could lead to further charges under the AFL rules against other individuals.’’ Essendon chairman Paul Little issued a statement on Tuesday night, saying the club will vigorously defend the charges against the club and its employees. But he conceded there was no doubt that "the club and individuals have made mistakes". "Essendon takes these matters very seriously. They are based on assertions contained in an interim report from ASADA and will be vigorously defended," the statement said. "These are very complex matters and whilst the Essendon Football Club is determined to resolve them expeditiously, that cannot be at the expense of thoroughness and due process that affords all parties natural justice to ensure a fair outcome. "Essendon welcomes the news that no infraction notices have been issued against any of its players and the AFL’s statement that, on current evidence, no notices will be issued.

"Throughout this process, our prime consideration has been the welfare of our players. We have maintained that no player has taken a performance enhancing substance and that there was no breach of the AFL’s anti-doping code. We stand by this and thank our players and their families for the way they have conducted themselves during what have been emotionally taxing times. "Since the club first raised its concerns with the AFL and proactively invited ASADA to investigate these matters, we have co-operated fully with all enquiries. "It is also important to be very clear that there is no doubt the club and individuals have made mistakes and that our governance and people management had significant gaps. "Over recent months, we have also implemented fundamental reforms of our internal governance practices and procedures, including reform of our HR and employee recruitment policies, medical protocols and lines of responsibility and accountability. The club has been assisted in this task by appropriate independent experts." Earlier in the day, the football world had resorted to puns and jokes as the delayed announcement made it an even more prolonged waiting game for fans and journalists.

A small media army camped out at AFL House in expectation of a 9am press conference. By 1pm, most pundits expected that high-level negotiations featuring all the main players were taking place at a secret location. Then Hird turned up at Windy Hill. Asked whether he had read the 400-page Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority interim report into the Bomber supplements program, he said that he had been reading children’s stories to his kids. In the absence of any hard news to digest and debate, the Twittersphere immediately speculated about the book titles under the hashtag #hirdbooks, with tomes such as The Power of One Jab, The Dank Tower, James Hird and the Chamber of Secrets, and The Last Don among the many suggestions. At 8am, the defiant Essendon coach had provided the most pertinent words of the day, talking to media gathered outside his home. He forecast the Bombers would fight any charges handed down by the AFL over the supplements saga.

With charges believed to be imminent, after the AFL received ASADA’s interim report more than a week ago, Hird said he was ‘‘staggered’’ that any charges could be laid against the club or individuals. ‘‘I think we all find it hard to believe that charges can be laid on individuals or the club when none of our players have (been) shown to take performance-enhancing drugs, none of our players have shown that they’ve been harmed by anything that’s been given. ‘‘And we’re dealing with an interim report – the report’s not finalised. ‘‘We’re all sitting back staggered and shocked that any charges could possibly be laid on those points.’’ It was for those reasons, said Hird, that the Bombers would fight.

‘‘Our players haven’t taken performance-enhancing drugs, we don’t believe they’ve been harmed in any way and that’s primarily why we’re fighting,’’ he said. ‘‘We don’t believe we’ve done anything wrong on those lines. ‘‘We will fight. It’s about our reputation, it’s about the football club, our football club’s the greatest football club in Australia and we’re going to protect it’s name.’’ Bombers great Matthew Lloyd said Hird’s defiance was no surprise. ‘‘I think there may come a time where James admits to some fault. But the moment he probably takes a suspension he looks like a drug cheat,’’ Lloyd told 3AW.

‘‘So I think that’s where I can understand why he’s digging his heels in along with others at the football club.’’ Lloyd predicted that if individuals were charged, the case would end up in court. ‘‘If, as we expect, that (Mark) Thompson, Danny Corcoran, Bruce Reid, James Hird are all charged, I expect all of them to fight for their names,’’ Lloyd said. He said the saga was taking a huge emotional toll on the Essendon coach. ‘‘It’s tearing him and his family up, I know that for a fact,’’ he said.

Lloyd also said the mood at the club was ‘‘horrible’’, that Hird’s mind was elsewhere when he was talking to players and he doubted the Bombers would win another game this season. Loading ‘‘You admire them for how well they’ve gone up until the last three weeks because I expected this to happen,’’ Lloyd said of their three big losses in the past three rounds. With AAP



