General Manager of Football Operations Rob Kerr has made the following statement in relation to the weekend's NAB Challenge squad.

“Elliott Kavanagh, Lauchlan Dalgleish, Jackson Merrett and Nick O’Brien approached the coaches and leadership group about playing in the NAB Challenge,” Kerr said.

“Both the coaches and the leadership group agreed that it was appropriate for the four players to be available for selection throughout the NAB Challenge, and the AFLPA was also comfortable with this decision.

“As club we had to weigh up the interests of all of our players, and the leadership group made it clear they didn’t want to deny these four players the opportunity to play senior football at this stage in their careers.

“The 2012 listed players who are provisionally suspended understand the reasons for their selection and feel their anonymity remains protected.”