Essendon Football Club today moved to clear-up suggestions that ruckman John Barnes did not play in the opening Ansett Cup match against Port Adelaide for disciplinary reasons.

Essendon football manager Matthew Drain said Barnes had been reprimanded by coach Kevin Sheedy for his behaviour on a recent flight back from Sydney but that it was not the reason he didn’t play last weekend.

“John’s attitude to training and playing has been excellent since he returned to the club last season. Kevin spoke to him on the flight back from Sydney but it was an isolated incident. We expect our players to maintain high standards of behaviour and Kevin simply pointed that out to him,” Drain said.

“John didn’t play against Port Adelaide because of knee tendonitis. He has been frustrated by the injury and needs to get it right before round one. Everyone knows how much running he does during the course of a season - you would rather keep him fresh for the season than have him inflame the problem in an Ansett Cup match.”

Barnes will undergo a fitness test later this week before a decision is made on whether he will play in Essendon's round two Ansett Cup match against Geelong at Colonial Stadium this Friday night.