Fairly comprehensive and, for once, balanced article on what went on at Essendon from the HUN.

Nothing new, of course, but still shocking when you read through it all in one place - though even this doesn't touch on Alavi, Charter etc. etc.

Essendon drugs saga: How Stephen Dank ran the controversial supplement program

Gross negligence

Failure to keep a safe workplace

Failure to keep records

Failure to properly inform employees (players) of what they wete really taking and risks

failure to properly inform parents

failure to adhere to Wada code

failure to..

Just.. epic failure really

The other hun article where Thompson argues the players should get off because its all taken too long is hilarious

Gross negligence

Failure to keep a safe workplace

Failure to keep records

Failure to properly inform employees (players) of what they wete really taking and risks

failure to properly inform parents

failure to adhere to Wada code

failure to..

Just.. epic failure really

People really should end up in jail as a result of this.

Gross negligence

Failure to keep a safe workplace

Failure to keep records

Failure to properly inform employees (players) of what they wete really taking and risks

failure to properly inform parents

failure to adhere to Wada code

failure to..

Just.. epic failure really

Surely records were kept but later destroyed.

given its the AFLs tribunal id bet London to a brick they've briefed the Tribunal members as to where that bar is set...wink wink nudge nudge !!!

Yep, it has been my suspicion for a long time the decision has been engineered for a soft landing from the beginning. The suggestion the AFL tribunal is even remotely independant is laughable. The AFL have demonstrated contempt for meaniingful drug control and for WADA/ASADA. This will continue to happen. A lot more spanners and sand left to jam up the wheels of justice.

Fairly comprehensive and, for once, balanced article on what went on at Essendon from the HUN.

Nothing new, of course, but still shocking when you read through it all in one place - though even this doesn't touch on Alavi, Charter etc. etc.

Essendon drugs saga: How Stephen Dank ran the controversial supplement program

As a long-time lover of aussie rules, I found that very hard to read.

One lighter moment was the bit where EFC sent off some blood samples to check if something illegal could be detected. Were those untrustworthy players taking drugs outside of the official program? Or is there a more obvious explanation....

I hadn't heard about that before. Is it new? In Ziggy's report? What's the evidence it happened?

As a long-time lover of aussie rules, I found that very hard to read.

One lighter moment was the bit where EFC sent off some blood samples to check if something illegal could be detected. Were those untrustworthy players taking drugs outside of the official program? Or is there a more obvious explanation....

I hadn't heard about that before. Is it new? In Ziggy's report? What's the evidence it happened?

My recollection is that ASADA/AFL quietly sent samples to Germany, not the EFC.

As a long-time lover of aussie rules, I found that very hard to read.

One lighter moment was the bit where EFC sent off some blood samples to check if something illegal could be detected. Were those untrustworthy players taking drugs outside of the official program? Or is there a more obvious explanation....

I hadn't heard about that before. Is it new? In Ziggy's report? What's the evidence it happened?

Robinson, the square-jawed fitness expert who had advised a long list of AFL and NRL teams, then made the unbelievable claim that Hird had suggested he and Dank should run a “black ops” supplement program.

The witness testimonies during civil cases are going to be explosive, truly explosive.

Yep, it has been my suspicion for a long time the decision has been engineered for a soft landing from the beginning. The suggestion the AFL tribunal is even remotely independant is laughable. The AFL have demonstrated contempt for meaniingful drug control and for WADA/ASADA. This will continue to happen. A lot more spanners and sand left to jam up the wheels of justice.

That is the basis for all the angst from the Hird camp. The original deal was done with Gillard, ASADA, Andy D and the EFC (DEvans). The NRL got wind of it and went ballistic so the deal was called off by Gillard.

That is supposedly why the Hird camp is hell bent on the conspiracy theory (we never would have fessed up had we known the deal was going to be withdrawn) and why the NRL acolytes such as Roy Masters and Rebecca Wilson have so much info in their articles.

Also why the EFC threw Evans under a bus and have gone hard since. They claim to have evidence of a deal and backroom negotiations etc. Its why the Doc Reid case was pulled by Andy D - all the correspondence would be discoverable as evidence etc etc etc

The AFL is very nervous about the leaks of what went on behind the scenes.

If the Ess players get whacked expect all hell to break loose with lawsuits left right and centre.....

Robinson, the square-jawed fitness expert who had advised a long list of AFL and NRL teams, then made the unbelievable claim that Hird had suggested he and Dank should run a “black ops” supplement program.

The witness testimonies during civil cases are going to be explosive, truly explosive.

That's probably why EFC settled out of court with Robinson, for $1m or $2m...keep the skeletons in the closet!

That's probably why EFC settled out of court with Robinson, for $1m or $2m, out of court...keep the skeletons in the closet!

Impossible task to keep the skeletons in the closet.

Theres many people that will spill the beans besides Robinson

Fairly comprehensive and, for once, balanced article on what went on at Essendon from the HUN.

Nothing new, of course, but still shocking when you read through it all in one place - though even this doesn't touch on Alavi, Charter etc. etc.

Essendon drugs saga: How Stephen Dank ran the controversial supplement program

I'm getting the impression that whilst this is being put across as "balanced", there's an element of shining the spotlight on Stephen Dank as the main villain and deflecting from the responsibility of the EFC, Hird and the other assorted characters in the story ... and of course, those poor, downtrodden players who have suffered so much through this ordeal, those bronzed footsoldiers who might even be deprived next month of appearing in the 100th anniversary ANZAC Day game.

So sad.

THE fridge in Stephen Dank’s office at Windy Hill wasn’t stocked with typical supplies.

Bottled water and sandwiches? No.

This was Essendon FC in 2012.

Peptides were on the menu.

The man they call “Danksy” stored hexarelin and other potions in this fridge, which he left unlocked in his disorderly office deep inside Bombers’ HQ.

The office doubled as a makeshift medical centre — it was here that Dank allegedly injected supplements into Essendon players and staff, including the club’s AFL legend coach James Hird.

Dank was not a qualified doctor. He wasn’t a pharmacist. He wasn’t even an accredited sports scientist, although he’d had years of experience working at professional sporting clubs.

Satisfaction is subjective after all..

Tell me about it.

Surely records were kept but later destroyed.

they didn't 'keep' them though...I mean...where are they ?

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you've lit the blue touch paper and retreated to a safe distance. But it may be a fizzer.

anyone else get this awful feeling that the players will be found not guilty and we have wasted over 2 years on nothing in the end. Then we will have hird the turd standing there grinning with little beside him and saying Ive told you all along they are innocent and we did nothing wrong.

Many are thinking/hoping that all of this is about to reach full time.

By my reckoning we're about to get to 3

/4 time.

Its about to get really serious.

anyone else get this awful feeling that the players will be found not guilty and we have wasted over 2 years on nothing in the end. Then we will have hird the turd standing there grinning with little beside him and saying Ive told you all along they are innocent and we did nothing wrong.

I reckon it's crossed a lot of people's minds (all the way from the beginning) I'm ready for any sort of outcome and have prepared for all those outcomes.

All the way to envisaging the AFL's relationship with WADA/ASADA in the future ... and the penalty for Crowley.

I'm expecting a largely inconsistent outcome because that's what we've seen previously with regards to most things related to the AFL.

The brand and the money will almost certainly be protected - that bit will be at the forefront of the ultimate decision. It won't end on Tuesday because of the possible/probable litigation but a number of 'out of court' settlements could be expected.

Who knows where it will end up but it could drag on for years - however, the stuff that drags on may well be right out of the spotlight. Our media do things their way - not necessarily the right way.

Not sure whether to believe this bit but wasn't it reported previously that the outcome was going to satisfy all the major players? (Essendon, the AFL, the players and WADA/ASADA)

Can't really see an outcome that satisfies players and Wada though

Can't really see an outcome that satisfies players and Wada though

Yeah, I meant satisfied in the sense that it would be final. WADA wouldn't appeal, the players cop their penalties because they have to, the AFL can move on and the Essendon club also cop their penalties because they have to.

That's if there are any penalties of course - I'm expecting an inconsistent outcome but I can't see them being exonerated fully. There's always that "bringing the game into disrepute bit" 'bb'

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https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSeKnoOdQYO6RPjq_rhAcr_-7U1ez-UdjsfaSNLeyHDoaZvvepDNw

The suggestion the AFL tribunal is even remotely independant is laughable.

It's independent. We've got two respected ex-judges and a barrister. If they're seen to be acting in a way that's outside the law or the application of the law, or that they acted under or were swayed by external pressure, it would be the end of their careers. They also know that they need to dot their i's and cross their t's and come up with a CAS-proof verdict, and that regardless of how big the AFL think they are, WADA are bigger.

Further, if it wasn't independent, the AFL wouldn't have had to make a submission. And Gill wouldn't be running to the press with his "hint hint" interview.

Though for the CEO of the AFL to be commenting publicly about an ongoing AFL Tribunal case as serious as this, just goes to show how little he "gets it". If Ben McD from ASADA gave an interview like McLachlan just did, he'd be out of a job.

It's independent. We've got two respected ex-judges and a barrister. If they're seen to be acting in a way that's outside the law or the application of the law, or that they acted under or were swayed by external pressure, it would be the end of their careers. They also know that they need to dot their i's and cross their t's and come up with a CAS-proof verdict, and that regardless of how big the AFL think they are, WADA are bigger.

.....

I'd like to believe that. But have I got it wrong that Jones ran the panel that let Barry Hall off when he clearly should have been suspended so he could play in a grand final. Doubtless the AFL liked that result.

It's independent. We've got two respected ex-judges and a barrister. If they're seen to be acting in a way that's outside the law or the application of the law, or that they acted under or were swayed by external pressure, it would be the end of their careers. They also know that they need to dot their i's and cross their t's and come up with a CAS-proof verdict, and that regardless of how big the AFL think they are, WADA are bigger.

Further, if it wasn't independent, the AFL wouldn't have had to make a submission. And Gill wouldn't be running to the press with his "hint hint" interview.

Though for the CEO of the AFL to be commenting publicly about an ongoing AFL Tribunal case as serious as this, just goes to show how little he "gets it". If Ben McD from ASADA gave an interview like McLachlan just did, he'd be out of a job.

Two ex judges and a barrister get paid also.