Essendon captain Jobe Watson could keep his Brownlow Medal Bombers skipper Jobe Watson with his Brownlow Medal. Picture: Michael Klein. Macca cartoon. David McArthur cartoon. Round 10, ASADA Vs Dank, 1 Melbourne, 2 Essendon, 3 ... (Andrew Demetriou. Brownlow Medal. Supplements.) ESSENDON captain Jobe Watson could keep his Brownlow Medal at the discretion of an AFL tribunal, even if he was found guilty of taking a banned substance. And Bombers players could serve six-month bans without missing a single match under guidelines stipulated in the World Anti-Doping Agency code. If Watson was found guilty of using the banned anti-obesity drug AOD-9604, but successfully argued for a reduction of the standard two-year ban, additional penalties would be at the discretion of a specially convened AFL tribunal. The Herald Sun is not suggesting Watson took a banned substance in 2012, his Brownlow season. Former Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority boss Richard Ings said the reduced penalty was key. "In the event that a player is found to have reduced fault, the AFL anti-doping tribunal has flexibility to impose a combination of sanctions, which may or may not include matches, awards and prizemoney," Ings said. The loss of awards for any player sanctioned for a doping violation is not an automatic thing. A two-year ban could be halved under clause 10.5.2 of the WADA code, which states: "If an athlete or other person establishes in an individual case that he or she bears no significant fault or negligence, then the otherwise applicable period of ineligibility may be reduced." Clause 10.5.3 allows for bans to be reduced by three-quarters - to six months - if athletes found guilty provide "substantial assistance in discovering or establishing anti-doping rule violations." Biochemist to break silence ASADA and the AFL are investigating claims that some players were given prohibited substances, with players including Watson soon to be interviewed. If Watson received a full two-year ban, it appears his Brownlow would be stripped under rule 10.8 of the WADA code, which says athletes will forfeit "any medals, points and prizes" won from the time of the offence to the start of a suspension, "unless fairness requires otherwise." With the ASADA investigation not expected to be completed until later this year, any possible bans may not be handed down until after the season. Under the WADA code, bans start as soon as the sanction is imposed, opening the possibility of a reduced six-month ban being served entirely during the AFL's off-season. In this instance banned players would not be permitted to train with the team. AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou refused to be drawn on developments in the supplements saga yesterday. "We need to await the outcome of the ASADA report," Demetriou said. I know that's frustrating to people, but they haven't even begun interviewing players yet. They will start that process as I understand within the next week or so. At the moment, they are currently finishing interviews with coaches and other officials. Essendon chairman David Evans last night denied having conceded that players had taken banned drugs. "Essendon have never conceded that our players have been given banned substances in 2012," Evans said in a statement.