Zach Merrett is wary of the road ahead for Essendon in the AFL, even with the return of their banned players.On Wednesday, the suspensions end for the 17 current AFL players found guilty of doping offences stemming from the Essendon supplements debacle.Of those, 12 are at Essendon and nine have re-signed at the club.Only captain Jobe Watson is yet to decide his future.Essendon finished last this season, but the Bombers stood firm and look well-placed to improve in 2017.But Merrett, who won the club best and fairest award this season for the first time, said nothing is guaranteed.Id love to say were aiming for the premiership - I think we are - but obviously we finished only 15th (last year) with those (banned) guys as well, Merrett said.We definitely understand theres a lot of hard work to be done and were a long way back from where wed like to be.But its exciting as well - we can really paint a picture of how the club goes forward.Merrett said he had spoken to Dyson Heppell, one of the returning players, this week - but not to Watson.He (Watson) is obviously a key player for us and someone whos won a Brownlow Medal, so it speaks about how good a player he is on the field, Merrett said.Off the field, hes a fantastic leader as well, so it would be great for the younger boys in the club if he came back.He obviously has everyone in Australia wondering what hes going to do.Essendon will let the players ease back into the club, with apparently no organised sessions this week.Of the 12, Michael Hibberd wants a trade and Tayte Pears has retired from senior football.On Tuesday night, Merrett was rewarded for his fine season when he was named vice-captain of the AFL Players Associations 2016 commemorative under-22 team. Bouteille Hydro Flask Pas Cher .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Hydro Flask Pas Cher . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. http://www.hydroflaskbouteille.fr/ . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Bouchon Hydro Flask France . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. Bouteille dEau Hydro Flask . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety.As England launch their kit for Euro 2016, we look at what some of the other nations will be wearing in France this summer. With 24 nations competing, this summers tournament could be the most colourful to date.Here are some of the strips that have been announced so far... EnglandEngland have unveiled their new 2016 home and away kits ahead of this summers European Championships in France. New England kit: Have your say What do you think of Englands new kit? The new home kit, created by sports manufacturers Nike, features a classic white English body with a contrasting light blue shoulder and sleeve, with a blue stripe that runs the length of the shirt and matching shorts.Bright red socks replicate the look of the English team that famously beat Brazil 2-0 in the Maracana in 1984. Englands new home and away kits The away kit, meanwhile, honours the 50th anniversary of Englands greatest footballing achievement - the 1966 World Cup victory at Wembley.The new strip integrates performance innovations and design details found in the white home kit, but in the unmistakable World Cup-winning red.Northern IrelandNorthern Irelands first international tournament since 1986 sees them wear this green, white and navy kit, but it hasnt gone down well with the fans.The Irish FA unveiled the £97 full strip ahead of their first European Championships in France next summer, but have faced a backlash from disgruntled supporters. Northern Irelands first international tournament since 1986 sees them wear this green, white and navy kit, but it hasnt gone down well with the fans The kit has been labelled a monstrosity and an awful mess by an online petition, with fans upset that navy blue has been included along with the traditional green and white colours, wanting something similar to when the team qualified for the World Cup in 1982 and 1986.As players, we just play in what were told to wear, said midfielder Oliver Norwood. Its always an honour to pull on any Northern Ireland shirt. Something extremely close to the Northern Ireland squads hearts is dividing the fans after qualifying for their first major tournament since 1986 Following the controversy over the home kit, the Irish FA tweeted a picture of the away kit with the message: Heres the new Northern Ireland away kit! Better….? Northern Irelands away kit is more traditional than the home kit WalesWales have kept things simple with a plain red and white effort ahead of their first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup.Their away kit is a striped black and grey strip with an electric green V-neck and adidas stripes down the shoulder. Gareth Bale models Wales kit for Euro 2016, sponsored by adidas Wales say the new away strip has taken a fresh interpretation on classic Welsh away colours of black, grey and green, each made famous by iconic kits from the 1970s, 80s and 90s.Manufactured by adidas, Gareth Bale and Co will head to France after coming second in Euro Qualifiers Group B with 21 points from their 10 games. Wales may also wear a two-tone black shirt, which features electric green detailing GermanyWorld champions Germany are looking to make it back-to-back major tournament wins in France, and will be donning a plain white and black kit made by adidas.Joachim Lows side finished top of Euro Qualifiers Group D, one point ahead of Poland, and will be looking to better their Euro 2012 show, where they were knocked out by Italy in the semi-finals. Despite Manuel Neuers poor attempt at looking threatening, Germany will wear the FIFA World Champions badge on their new kit Their away shirt is two shades of grey and also reversible, with a light green training shirt on the inside. World champions Germany will be wearing this away kit BelgiumFlooded with Premier League talent, Belgium will be looking to get past the quarter-final stage of a major tournament for the first time since 1986. Currently ranked No 1 in the world by FIFA, Marc Wilmots side qualified from Group B with 23 points out of a possible 30, and will be wearing a red, black and yellow kit manufactured by adidas. Belgium, currently ranked No 1 by FIFA, will wear their traditional colours in France They will also travel with a rather stylish away kit that has a red, black and yellow stripe around the middle. Heres the away kit for FIFAs highest-ranked team SpainThe reigning European champions will be living up to their nickname La Roja with their all-red effort in France, also made by adidas.However, their away kit, which features an unusual design of colourful triaangles, seems to have divided opinion.dddddddddddd Spains away kit has been met with a mixed reaction Vicente Del Bosques Spain had the third-best qualifying record with 27 points out of a possible 30 from Group C, behind England (30 out of 30) and Austria (28 out of 30). Iker Casillas posted this photo of the Spain team modelling their new kit ItalyItaly made the final of Euro 2012, and will be looking to go one better in France in this traditional light blue and white effort, manufactured by Puma.The four-time world champions have not been quite as successful in the European Championship, winning the tournament once in 1968. They qualified from Group H unbeaten, winning seven of their 10 games. Italy will wear their classic azure shirts at Euro 2016, again produced by Puma Their away shirt features two stripes down the middle and Torsten Hochstetter, global creative director at PUMA said: Strong Italian cultural influences inspire the design, there is such richness in the heritage of Italian football and we had a lot to work with.Giorgino Chellini tweeted the following picture and described it as Bellissima!!!: Marco Verratti, Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini model the away kit SwitzerlandAlso made by Puma, Switzerland take their two-tone hooped red strip to France having qualified behind England in Group E with seven wins and three defeats from their 10 games. Switzerland, currently managed by Vladimir Petkovic, have not reached the quarter-finals of a major tournament since they hosted the 1954 World Cup. Switzerlands Euro 2016 kit features subtle horizontal stripes SwedenZlatan Ibrahimovic and co booked their place at Euro 2016 with a play-off victory over Denmark.In France they will be sporting a traditional yellow home kit and a blue and grey away kit, both made by adidas. Yellow and blue make up the Sweden home shirt Zlatan and co will in France ready to model this away kit AustriaAustria had a strong qualification campaign, winning nine games and not losing a single match. It is the first time theyve qualified for a major tournament since 1998, with the exception of Euro 2008 when they were joint hosts with Switzerland.Their kit retains the same colours as usual, red with white strips down the shoulders. Marko Arnautovic (L), Ramazan Ozcan (C) and David Alaba (R) all modelling the latest Austria home kit Czech RepublicCzech Republic topped Group A of qualifying ahead of Iceland, Turkey and a lacklustre Netherlands side who wont be a part of the finals.Puma have taken the decision to remove all blue from the kit, going for a bold red look entering the tournament. Petr Cech and Co showing off Czech Republics home shirt UkraineUkraine qualified for Euro 2016 via the play-offs after playing out two legs against Slovenia which they won 3-1 on aggregate.Their kit retains a feeling of familiarity as theyve decided to stick with the all-yellow look. The most notable difference is the subtle patterning used as a backdrop. The Ukraine players showed off their new kit at a press event SlovakiaEnglands Group B opponents have never qualified for a European Championship as an independent country until this year. They came second in Group C behind Spain thanks to impressive performances from the likes of Martin Skrtel and Marek Hamsik.Slovakias shirt combining a white base with subtle hoops. Theres a blue stripe accompanied with blue sleeve cuffs and a blue round-neck collar. Englands group B opponents Slovakia looking confident in white and blue IcelandIceland were one of the Euro qualification surprise packages after finishing second in Group A ahead of Turkey and fourth-placed Netherlands, who failed to secure a place in the finals.And with their qualification success comes a new kit, with Iceland retaining their classic blue colour with the bold red strip running vertically instead of horizontally. Iceland home kit for Euro 2016 RussiaRussia left it late to qualify ahead of Sweden in Group G with a 2-0 win over Montenegro last month, and will be wearing a V-neck adidas effort in France, with the national sides crest embossed across the dark red home shirt and the white away shirt. Ahead of hosting the World Cup in 2018, Russia will be looking to better their semi-final appearance in 2008 having never previously progressed past the group stage of a major tournament. Russias adidas kit features their crest printed across the fabric The away shirt is paired with blue shorts Also See: Zlatan or Bendtner - who said it? Euro play-offs: Five to watch Euro 2016 odds International news ' ' '