How do you know they aren't inside the discussion?
It's not like Willie or his manager or the AFL will come out and publically state "Hey everyone, sorry for the delay but ASADA are being pr!cks and are demanding the mandatory 4 years but we are working on getting this reduced. It's a tough situation but we are trying to get the best result we can."
Why would the AFL do that? That would inflame the situation and piss off ASADA and WADA.
It is easy to take a shot at the AFL for taking so long. If you just want a quick result then fine, 4 years bye bye career. Very easy for the AFL to just do that. Sure they will cop a bit of flak but they will just shift the blame onto Willie and ASADA.
The longer it takes IMO that means not 4 years.
Everyone is not responsible for the delays.
Its Willies murmurings that suggest he is unaware of any discussions.
The actual penalty plays no part in my comments or thinking, its a different issue.