Essendon assistant coach Simon Goodwin says he expects senior coach James Hird to continue in the role for Saturday night’s round-22 AFL game against Carlton, despite Hird backing out of a media conference on Friday.

Hird, who has taken legal action against the league over the club’s supplements scandal, is under intense pressure to step aside.

The Bombers announced about 10 minutes before their scheduled 11.30am media conference on Friday at Windy Hill that Hird would no longer be available because of meetings.

“It’s a situation that no one’s foreseen,” Goodwin said.

“There’s a lot going on in and around the footy club. It’s important everyone in and around the footy club helps share the load.

“James is a bit tied up at the moment so I’m just here to do the press conference about the game this week.

“As far as I know, he’s definitely going to be senior coach (on Saturday night), yeah.”

Essendon’s 17 rival clubs on Thursday 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 AFL on Wednesday released a 34-page document detailing the grounds on which they have charged the Bombers with bringing the game into disrepute.

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 preventing the AFL Commission from hearing the charge against him and seeking a ruling that the league must provide him with more detail and more time to prepare before a hearing is held.