Leading Melbourne lawyer David Galbally said that James Hird "is unlikely to succeed in his Federal Court appeal" but, citing an Australian Football League case almost 20 years old, "expects the Essendon players to escape punishment before the league's anti-doping tribunal," according to Jon Pierik of THE AGE.
The anti-doping case "resumed behind closed doors in the Victorian County Court on Tuesday." Hird "is also awaiting a decision from the Federal Court on his bid to overturn Justice John Middleton's ruling that the 2013 investigation by the AFL and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority into the Bombers' supplements program was lawful." Three Federal Court judges "have yet to release their findings on Hird's appeal in November," which adds to Galbally's belief that the Essendon coach "won't be successful." Galbally: "It [the appeal] could well scuttle the whole thing, but it's not going to do that. It will deal with Hird and, if anything, it may make comments which limit the way future investigations go. But I don't see it as shutting the whole thing down" (THE AGE, 1/20).
