Essendon is continuing discussions with the AFL surrounding the club’s participation in the 2015 NAB Challenge series.

General Manager Football Operations Rob Kerr said the club was still working towards a solution that would benefit all key stakeholders.

“We are working with the AFL to have an ongoing dialogue with them with what the best solution is with respect to the NAB Challenge,” Kerr said.

“It is obviously a complex issue as we face a number of challenges with just fielding a team and we are presenting those challenges to the AFL so they can take them into consideration in respect to a decision.

“We are conscious of the fact that there is other stakeholders involved in this, there are communities, broadcasters, players, state league clubs and the other AFL clubs.

“Any solution we propose is trying to take into account those stakeholders as well and trying to come up with something that might work for all concerned.”

Kerr said the players who are currently provisionally suspended will make the decision on whether or not they play.

“Those players who have been issued infraction notices have been provisionally suspended as we speak so the issue they face is that if they were to play a NAB Challenge game it would impact upon their provisional suspension,” he said.

“The solution that the playing group themself has bought into has been made because everyone is mindful that under the anti doping code there is an obligation to protect the identity of those players that have infraction notices.

“That is the code the players have signed up to and people may have guesses and the like but the fact is the integrity of the code relies on those players identity being protected.”

Kerr said he was not expecting there to be any sanctions for the player’s decision to pull out of the NAB Challenge.

“The discussions we have had with the AFL has been about finding a solution that is going to work and there has been no tabling of if you couldn’t play this is what the penalty would be,” he said.

“The options are that we would have to find other players to supplement our list and when you factor in that there is 25 players on our list from 2012.

“When you look at some of the older players and the younger players who are not going to play a whole lot of time during the NAB Challenge the number of players available is reduced significantly.”