Essendon have copped another whack in their season from hell, fined $20,000 by the AFL after racking up their fifth charge of careless contact with an umpire.
Angus Clarke and Sullivan Robey were both hit with fines out of the Bombers’ heavy defeat to Brisbane last weekend.
Robey, who had already been fined for the same act in a game earlier this season, accepted his latest sanction while Clarke sought to have it overturned.
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But his written submission was knocked back by the tribunal on Tuesday night.
The outcome put a full stop on Essendon’s fifth run-in with an umpire, with the AFL handing down the five-figure penalty in a statement on Thursday.
Jye Caldwell was the first Bombers player to be fined for careless contact with an umpire this season before Zach Merrett, Robey (twice) and Clarke followed suit.
The AFL introduced the $20,000 penalty in February and sent a reminder to clubs in May.
Gold Coast copped the hit in June after their fifth incident.
But the Suns avoided further potential punishment, and Collingwood their first $20,000 fine, when a fiery clash between the two teams led to misconduct charges — rather than careless contact with an umpire — for Touk Miller and Brayden Maynard.
Both players had touched an umpire as they rushed towards a half-time melee.
Essendon, meanwhile, remain without a win since April as they prepare to host GWS at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
Interim coach Dean Solomon’s hopes of staying on in a full-time capacity are dwindling by the week as club powerbrokers begin talking to candidates.
Club great James Hird sat down with the Bombers on Tuesday while 232-game veteran Mark McVeigh will meet the club next week.
If Solomon doesn’t stay on as senior coach, the 2000 Essendon premiership player has already stated he will stay involved at the club next year.
It is realistic Solomon could still work as an assistant under his former captain if Hird won the job.
“I haven’t spoken to Hirdy for a couple of weeks now,” Solomon said on Wednesday.
“He’s expressed his interest in the job and he’s part of the process, but outside of that I haven’t spoken to Hirdy.”
Solomon expects to get a “tap on the shoulder” from Welsh and Bombers chief executive Tim Roberts about his plans beyond this season.
But Solomon isn’t willing to say if he will formally go through the process to become the permanent coach.
“I just haven’t had time to think about it,” Solomon said.
“This role is full-on, and especially the current-day situation we’re in.
“I spend 23 hours a day trying to work out how we can get this club back to being really competitive in the short term.
“I know that might be hard to believe, but that’s honestly where my head is at, and literally it consumes all of you in this role.”
Essendon have won just once in their past 30 matches amid one of the lowest points in the former powerhouse club’s history.
The Bombers are set to collect their first wooden spoon since 2016 — the year the club was forced to use top-up players because of the supplements saga.
In a reset for the club, Essendon held a light training session back at their spiritual home at Windy Hill on Wednesday.
Players were joined by the club’s AFLW team, who continue to play some of their matches at the historic venue, instead of the current headquarters at Tullamarine.
