The Australian Football League players' union "will summon as many as possible of the 34 past and present Essendon players issued with show-cause notices to a meeting within days," according to Wilson & Pierik of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The players' three-man legal team, led by Tony Hargreaves, is "all being paid by Essendon." While a significant number of the 34 remain out of Australia on leave, the plan "is to put to them a range of options and discuss the key elements of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority's case against them." It "remained unclear" whether ASADA CEO Ben McDevitt planned to approach the players with a proposed deal before the end of the month or whether individual players would approach ASADA. Leading player manager Craig Kelly "confirmed his Elite Sports Properties had engaged solicitors Holding Redlich to offer independent advice to any of his players wanting another opinion." Kelly said, "Certainly none of our players are looking to move away from group representation. However, we have on standby a law firm to look after their needs should they choose to seek independent advice." The AFL Players Association "remained firm in its stand on Monday that its players remained united in their approach to the show-cause letters." However, the prevailing view "is that the different circumstances of each individual could come into play before the end of the month" (SMH, 10/20).
