AFL clubs have backed the league’s stance that charges relating to Essendon’s use of supplements should be heard by the AFL Commission and not by an outside tribunal.
The league’s 18 clubs met AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick for more than two-and-a-half hours at AFL House on Thursday to be briefed on the situation over Essendon’s supplements scandal.
The AFL on Wednesday released a 34-page document detailing the grounds on which it has charged the Bombers with bringing the game into disrepute.
Coach James Hird, assistant Mark Thompson, football manager Danny Corcoran and club doctor Bruce Reid are also facing the same charge, which the club and all four individuals plan to fight.
Hird launched Supreme Court action on Thursday aimed at having an independent body, not the AFL Commission, hear the charge against him and seeking a ruling that the league provide more detail on its evidence plus a list of witnesses it will call.
But Western Bulldogs chairman Peter Gordon, speaking on behalf of the clubs, told reporters that resolving the issue within the league itself was vital.
“In our view, it is of paramount importance that every effort be made to resolve these matters within the AFL industry,” Gordon said, reading from a prepared statement.