But he hopes the club looks after those not on its list, or ‘‘in the wilderness’’ as he puts it, such as fellow Tasmanian Sam Lonergan.

Thirty-four current and former Essendon-listed players were suspended for the 2016 season on Tuesday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld the World Anti-Doping Agency appeal of the AFL anti-doping tribunal’s not guilty verdict from last year.

The players were found guilty of taking the banned substance Thymosin Beta-4 during the 2012 season.

Lonergan, who was signed as Launceston’s TSL coach in August, and Thomas Bellchambers, who also played at the Blues, are among those suspended.

Former Burnie ruckman Laycock, who played 58 games for the Bombers between 2004 and 2010, was shocked when the news came through.

‘‘They would just be shattered and they wouldn’t know what to do really, especially those not on the list and out in the wilderness,’’ he said

‘‘It would be a pretty tough time for them right now.

‘‘I just hope they look after the players that have left the club and the (AFL) system.

‘‘Someone like Sam, he’s going to need to rely on football income to support his family.

‘‘He’s not going to have as much support behind him, so he’s going to find it hard financially, and then there’s mental issues that can come with it, so the footy club is going have to give that support as well.

‘‘The guys on the AFL lists, they will be looked after, but I do feel more for the other blokes.’’

Laycock said that he could understand why the players would have taken part in the program, but felt it was the club that was in the wrong, not the 34 in question.

‘‘If you were sore or anything like that, you were just given something to make yourself better and you put that trust in the staff around you, and that’s all these guys did. I used to have cortisone injections in my knee, and I never questioned that, and after weight sessions you would have your cups lined up and you take your supplements.

‘‘I never had (supplements) injections, just powder-formed stuff, but you never question it, you just take it.

‘‘You put the trust in these people, and they (the club) did let the players down.’’

The CAS ruling put the blame with the players, something Laycock could not agree with.

Laycock said he hoped former coach James Hird wouldn’t be painted as a villain, despite the fact the program was introduced on his watch.

‘‘I have memories of ‘Hirdy’ being the ultimate professional and doing everything possible to get the most out of himself and he wouldn’t have done this deliberately and in his mind he would have thought it was legal.

‘‘I do hold him accountable for stretching the boundaries, but he did think he was stretching them, not crossing them.’’

The 31-year-old was confident his former club could bounce back.

‘‘All I see is a great opportunity for the likes of Darcy Parish (No.5 draft pick) this year, so hopefully we can rebuild from that and the experience these kids will get that they otherwise wouldn’t have got will be a silver lining.

‘‘Essendon were great for me, the way they looked after me with all my medical problems and I will be Essendon for the rest of my life for the way they looked after me while I was there.’’