Saga won’t stop Bombers’ finals fling

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ESSENDON midfielder David Zaharakis says his teammates can defy the biggest legal stoush in AFL history and push hard towards finals over the remaining nine rounds.

Coach Mark Thompson delivered an brutal assessment of the toll the ongoing supplement crisis was taking on the suffering playing group, saying their win over Adelaide delivered some much needed "joy"into their lives and helped off-set feelings of "isolation" and "loneliness".

The players' concentration will face another test on Friday, when the club ramps up its legal battle against ASADA at a Federal Court directions hearing on the day of their next game against Geelong under lights at Etihad Stadium.

Ex-Cat Paul Chapman is a confirmed starter against his old side, while gun Bombers' defender Michael Hibberd (corked leg) and big man Jake Carlisle (knee) are in doubt for the Cats' clash.

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ASADA issued 34 players show cause notices over a banned substance allegedly used in 2012 but the club claims the 17-month ASADA probe was unlawful.

Zaharakis, who rejected the injections program due to his fear of needles, said the team was intent on delivering a stronger second half of the season that could help catapult it towards an historic September appearance.

The Bombers are four points outside the eight after holding off the Crows by nine points on Saturday night.

"History shows that the side that really takes the next step in the second half of the year is the one that goes into finals pretty hot," Zaharakis said.

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"That's what we are trying to do. Our consistency of training has been great and we are doing a lot of conditioning work so we don't drop off (later in the season) as we have in recent years.

"We know as a footy side we have the talent (on the list) but that can only get you so far. It is our effort that has wavered."

Zaharakis said while some players would feel the heavy strain of the ASADA probe at home, the games at the end of each week provided a welcome escape.

"As soon as the guys get here it is three hours of fun. It's the fun time of the week," he said.

"You are at a footy ground doing the things you love."

Midfielder Brendon Goddard said that the club's new Tullamarine training base had acted as a "sanctuary" to "block out the exterior expectations and perceptions".

Essendon players thank their loyal fans after the game. Source: Getty Images

"I guess we've only really got each other in these situations," Goddard said.

"When we come to training it's all about us and what we are trying to focus on."

Asked if the supplement mess was weighing on the players, Thompson said: "It sure is."

"We feel like everyone's against us and we've just got to go out and have fun and have some success and have some joy in our life," Thompson said.

"There's not much joy around.

"It would have been disastrous if we had have gone down (against the Crows) and lost again with a big lead two weeks in a row."

AND the AFL yesterday gave the all-clear to Ben Howlett's spectacular boundary line goal in the Bombers win against Adelaide.

Howlett threaded the tightest of angles from deep in the pocket but Adelaide players immediately complained to umpires that the ball appeared to glance the post.

While the goal umpire signalled a goal, the AFL said Howlett's shot also passed a goal line review.

AFL spokesman Patrick Keane confirmed the decision was reviewed upstairs but said there was inconclusive evidence to overrule the goal umpire's decision.

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