BRISBANE Lions champion Jonathan Brown says Essendon must keep James Hird as coach regardless of the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal verdict on Tuesday week.

Brown said it was clear Hird continued to have the strong support of the playing group despite the threat of doping bans facing the “Essendon 34”.

ASADA is pushing for minimum six-month bans, but backdating penalties could see as many as 18 currently-listed Essendon players serve two or four matches on the sidelines.

Brown, a triple premiership Lion, said there was “no doubt Essendon will struggle” to match rivals if it had to rely on their top-up players in the early rounds of the season.

Essendon tackle Sydney, Hawthorn, Carlton and Collingwood in a difficult first month.

But the legendary goalkicker was adamant the club must retain Hird this year, saying sacking him on the eve of the season would be a backward step.

“At the end of the day he (Hird) has already been suspended, he has done his 12 months,” Brown said.

“And it’s too late now, you can’t bring in another coach two days before Round 1.

“Hirdy’ has got to be the coach, certainly for this year, and whatever happens after that, who knows.

“But it would be too destabilising for Hirdy to leave and I think the players like playing for him as well, so that would cause problems.”

The Essendon players from the 2012 list, who have sat out the club’s NAB Challenge series, completed a training session yesterday morning.

Key big men Jake Carlisle (knee) and Tom Bellchambers (ankle) have fully recovered from injury and are in full training.

Vice-captain Brendon Goddard said the club was not concerned by the heavy defeats it had suffered without the bulk of its stars early in the NAB Challenge series.

“It’s pretty tough when you have five or six (top-up) guys come in who haven’t been exposed to the club or the game plan, or to everything in general, so It’s been pretty tough,” Goddard said.

“But I don’t think teams look too much into preseason games when they don’t have their best team together.

“For us, it’s important the young guys come in and get a bit of confidence. They feel intensity of AFL footy at highest standard,

“But for us it’s about the bigger picture and that’s the case for most teams.”

Goddard said Hird had “not missed a beat” since returning from his year-long suspension late last year.

“Obviously he is unique circumstances, as we all are,” Goddard said.

“But I think, particularly since he has arrived back to the club in early November, I think he has handled himself extraordinarily well,”