i would argue essendon has had enough time to trade players in danger of being suspended meaning they wouldnt need top ups.
Seriously? You generally seem pretty switched on Zim, but you've let yourself down with this one. Why didn't they trade all of them then? Why, because they are not the epitome of evil they have been portrayed as.
On the other hand teams pursued those players - arguably exploiting the situation. There were none that Essendon wanted to trade. Even Monfries, who was traded before this debacle, was a player Essendon wanted to retain.
I would argue that no team thought they would be suspended - which is why they were so keen to use the situation to their (apparent) advantage. The idiocy of the CAS decision is available for everyone to read - the President of the Western Bulldogs has been quite vocal on this.
Also, how is there any advantage to the EFC to trade away players they think will be suspended when they will now have to pay the wages of top up players, as well as the wages and compensation for every player from the original 34 - whether they are still in the AFL system or not?
Sorry if I've gone overboard, but there's so much misinformation out there about this thing that it's hard not to respond - even though I'm sure it won't make any difference.