Essendon Football Club announced this afternoon that after obtaining the best advice available, it has decided not to appeal the verdict and one-week suspension of full forward Matthew Lloyd. Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson said Matthew Lloyd had supported the club's decision and that the club will now concentrate all its efforts on winning this year's Premiership.

""Both the club and Matthew are disappointed by the guilty verdict given there was no force or intent in the contact made by Matthew - elements which constitute a head-butt. None-the-less the club thinks the chances of over-turning the decision are not substantial enough to warrant an appeal, given the reliance of the Appeal Board on video evidence,"" Jackson said.

Jackson said members and supporters need to be aware that an appeal is in fact a re-hearing of the case in its entirety, whereby both the verdict and the sentence can be changed.

""As things stand Matthew is available for the Grand Final should the club make it and it is of paramount importance that he be available for the most important game of the year,"" Jackson said. ""We are confident all Essendon players will lift for the Preliminary Final in Matthew’s absence to ensure the club gets to the Grand Final.""

Jackson said there were a number of aspects of this case that Essendon Football Club was unhappy with including the AFL tribunal's lack of consistency and comments by AFL personnel after the charge had been laid. The club will deal with these matters after the finals' series is completed.

EFC will not comment any further until that time.