Betting suspended on Dons game

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou is adamant that cheating of any form in the AFL will not be accepted and you will be caught.

A year-long investigation into Australian sport has revealed widespread doping and links to organised crime.

BETTING agencies have begun suspending betting on markets involving the Round 1 Adelaide-Essendon game in the wake of the drug scandal surrounding the AFL side.

Tattsbet is not offering odds on the side's round 1 clash with the Crows, due to take place on March 22, as well as "futures" betting on all clubs' end-of-season table positions.

Betting on the 2013 premiership remains on the site.

Essendon is listed at $15, behind $4 favourites Hawthorn.

TAB Sportsbet has suspended betting on the round 1 fixture between Adelaide and Essendon but future betting is still being offered.

Centrebet also is not offering odds on the Adelaide v Essendon clash.

Anti-gambling campaigner Nick Xenophon has called for a temporary ban on all sports betting while investigations into drugs and match fixing continue and a permanent ban on "micro-betting".

"These findings are so serious that the only course of action is to suspend sports betting until measures to safeguard the integrity are put in place," he said.

Mr Xenophon said micro-betting, betting on events within matches - such as first goal scorers, should be banned permanently due to vulnerability to corruption.

"Micro-betting gives macro opportunities for corruption," he said.

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Outlaw substances up for grabs

Stephen Dank at his Ascot Vale home. Picture: Tony Gough Source: Herald Sun

Shane Charter reportedly supplied Stephen Dank with supplements, while it emerged he also has links with Essendon coach James Hird. Source: Herald Sun

THE man at the centre of the Essendon drug scandal is a director of a company marketing peptides banned from sale in Australia and outlawed in sport by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Stephen Dank, the football club's performance scientist, co-owns the Sydney-based Medical Rejuvenation Clinic, which boasts "a substantial range of Australian-produced Protein Peptides ... at very competitive prices".

Its website makes special reference to 15 products, including GHRP-6, CJC-1295, IGF-1, SARM, Hexarelin and MGF, which the Therapeutic Goods Administration said were "not registered for use in Australia" and "should not be available for commercial supply or sale".

The peptides are also strictly prohibited for use by professional athletes both in and out of competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The company was formed by Mr Dank with three co-directors in August 2011 - months before Mr Dank joined the Bombers on a three-year contract.

Mr Dank - known by some in the gym world as "the Peptide King" - yesterday confirmed his involvement in the business but said: "The company is legal."

However, another Sydney-based director told the Herald Sun it was a "grey area" and the company "gets round the legality of it by getting doctors to issue scripts".

"You can come into our clinic in Bondi and we have a doctor who will write you a script or you can order through our website," he said.

"We will then send you a PDF form asking for additional info and, by good grace, a script will be formulated and you'll get your goods from our compound chemist the following day."

It has also emerged convicted drug trafficker Shane Charter, who reportedly supplied Mr Dank with supplements, has links with Essendon coach James Hird.

Hird and Mr Charter - known by some as Dr Ageless - worked together for 12 months on his diet and fitness during the champion's premiership and Brownlow Medal-winning career.

Mr Charter was also hailed as "the architect" behind Demon Shane Woewodin's 2000 Brownlow Medal win.

There is no suggestion that Woewodin or Hird ever took banned substances.

But it was the Brownlow accolade that made Mr Charter in high demand with the league's best.

"It was a list that read like the who's who of the AFL," a former friend said.

He added Mr Charter would often mention he would have coffee with gangland figure Carl Williams most days.

And a former Melbourne footballer claims Mr Charter used to advise several Demons players on what to take to aid performance and recover "like European cyclists".

"He put me on a range of injections and supplements. I didn't know what the f--- I was taking, but my recovery was outstanding," the former player said. "I felt unstoppable some days.

"It cost me $10,000 so it wasn't cheap."

Mr Charter's partner, Donna, last night defended him, saying despite his prison past he was not involved in anything illegal now.

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Victorian club target-tested

The AFL announce new measures to their Integrity Commission to catch drug cheats including more investigators and more drug testing.

North Melbourne vice-captain and AFLPA board member Drew Peterie is shocked by the revelations by the ACC and welcomes the investigation.

AFL 360 commentator Gerard Whateley says no one and no sport is immune to the Australian Crime Commission investigation.

Government ministers and the heads of Australian sporting codes are talking tough about widespread criminal elements in sport.

Not the Bombers: Players from one of Victoria's biggest AFL teams are the subject of extensive target-testing by ASADA and the club is not Essendon.
  Source: Herald Sun

A GROUP of players from one of Victoria's biggest AFL teams has been the subject of extensive target-testing by Australia's anti-doping watchdog.

The club came to the attention of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency in about 2010 with as many as 12 players regularly tested since for performance enhancing drugs.

The club is not Essendon, at the centre of its own storm after 40 players are alleged to have taken supplements that could be illegal.

Sources have told the Herald Sun players from an interstate club have also come under suspicion and been profiled by ASADA.

It can be revealed the AFL's war on performance-enhancing drugs sees it meet monthly with ASADA and police bodies to share information and decide upon players to be target-tested.

Players regularly target-tested include those with ties to shady sports science experts, players who suddenly gain significant weight, or who have a form surge.

It is unusual for such a large group of players from one club to be target-tested. It can take several years of profiling to build cases against sportspeople who use performance-enhancing drugs.

Blood samples taken from AFL players in the last five years have been stored and can be re-tested as technologies improve.

The president of the Victorian club denied any knowledge of the tests this week.

It is believed some players are considering whether to come forward to ASADA given they are unsure what supplements they have recently taken.

AFL vows to save game

The Herald Sun revealed last month that the AFL had built a bank of biological data which could be used to prove the presence of performance-enhancing substances.

Sources said there were concerns with individual AFL players, and some players who had links to NRL players or doctors.

About 1000 tests are conducted under the anti-doping code each year, with a combination of urine, blood and EPO testing.

But the league has almost completely abandoned random testing as a way to trip up cheats, instead relying on its intelligence data base and information sharing networks with the Victorian and Federal police and the Australian Crime Commission.

 Target-testing also is aimed at players who finish top-three in best-and-fairests, who have had long-term injuries, who train overseas, and who have not been tested in the previous two years.

It can be confirmed that a tip former star Gerard Healy gave to the AFL about an Essendon staffer asking about peptides at a sport conference was passed on to ASADA. But it is not known if that played any part in the investigation into Essendon.

London Olympics silver medallist Mitch Watt yesterday told the Herald Sun he could be tested up to 10 times in a two-month international season and 20 times a year.

He said football codes might have to endure more testing, and potentially blood passports for every player.

"Everyone in Australian sport is so laid back and you think if someone is a good bloke they wouldn't do it. But there will always be a percentage of people who will cheat," Watt said.

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AFL vows to save our game

The AFL announce new measures to their Integrity Commission to catch drug cheats including more investigators and more drug testing.

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou is adamant that cheating of any form in the AFL will not be accepted and you will be caught.

North Melbourne vice-captain and AFLPA board member Drew Peterie is shocked by the revelations by the ACC and welcomes the investigation.

Government ministers and the heads of Australian sporting codes are talking tough about widespread criminal elements in sport.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou and AFL Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick address the media after the Australian Crime Commission released a report on drugs and organised crime in Australian sport. Source: Herald Sun

THE AFL has declared war on drug-takers and pushers as part of an unprecedented crackdown on criminals infiltrating the sport.

An emergency AFL Commission meeting yesterday fast-tracked a host of reforms to its drug code.

The league will require the name of every drug and/or supplement that is given to players by medical and sports science staff at the 18 clubs.

All club personnel will have background checks ordered and a whistleblower unit will be set up.

Responding to yesterday's Australian Crime Commission report, AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick and chief executive Andrew Demetriou refused to share evidence of doping in the AFL, saying they were bound by confidentiality.

They said they were not aware of the number of players or clubs who had been identified by the ACC.

"We're not sure if it's a couple of individuals or more widespread at this stage, but we're going to find out," Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick said combating doping was the game's major priority.

"We feel the WADA testing was relatively successful to about 12 months ago, and it's become clear today it's not," he said.

"We're looking at moving as quickly as we can to make the sure the integrity, the fairness of the competition is reinforced.

"Our view is we're going to clean up the sport as quickly as we can."

It's understood the ACC has extracted information from criminal elements, and that at least one person central to the Essendon drugs scandal has been spoken to by the ACC.

Demetriou described yesterday as a "wake-up call", and that the AFL and the NRL - identified as the codes with the biggest integrity issues - needed greater resources to combat cheats.

"It would be fair to say after today there will be people at all of our clubs, working at all different levels, which would include players, that will have had a wake-up call," he said.

Adelaide Crows captain Nathan van Berlo surprised at the revelations revealed by the Australian Crime Commission.

"With this scrutiny they will be thinking, what should I do.

"I will say this, if you are out there and you think that you can run the gauntlet of cheating in this system, whether to be with the salary cap or the use of performance enhancing drugs, gambling etc, make no mistake you will be caught."

The AFL's strategy will be outlined to the four major heads of footy clubs - the chairman, the coach, the chief executive and football operations manager - who will be required to attend the AFL over the coming week.

The AFL reforms include:

A REVAMPING of the AFL's integrity unit, which includes more investigators, more technology, more intelligence gathering capabilities and more testing.

AN AUDIT of every club's use of supplements and other treatments.

THE AFL's medical officers to meet club doctor to review their practices and the use of external practitioners.

MANDATORY reporting of doping activity or when players are approached to take drugs.

REGISTRATION of all club staff, pointedly sports science staff and and high performance managers.

BACKGROUND checks on all club staff.

A WHISTLEBLOWER unit to help catch crooks.

Demetriou would not comment on the Essendon issue, but stressed some drugs were undetectable under current drug testing procedures.

"There are drugs out there not even approved for human use yet that are being trialled," he said.

Fitzpatrick said the game needed protecting from "insidious elements".

"Today's news from the Australian Crime Commission has shown us all Australian sport is not immune from the problems sport overseas have faced," he said.

"The world has changed and we have to respond to it."

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Hodge says he's playing on

Retirement off the agenda: Luke Hodge played only 10 games last year after damaging his posterior cruciate ligament. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

LUKE Hodge says he has no plans to retire at the end of the season.

 The Hawthorn captain is aiming to play his side's last NAB Cup game on March 15 or 16 in an attempt to push for Round 1 selection.

Hodge played only 10 games last year after damaging his posterior cruciate ligament in Round 6.

Out of contract at the end of 2013, Hodge admitted his injury-plagued 2012 season made him confront his football mortality.

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But the 2008 Norm Smith medallist is confident his body is capable of withstanding "another few years" yet.

"I think when you get to the latter stages of your career, any major injuries make you think 'Oh, is that the end?' " Hodge said yesterday.

"But I'm only 28 and it's not as if the injury last year was a result of wear and tear, it was an impact injury, a totally different thing.

"If it was a wear and tear thing it would have put a few question marks over me, but I've got full confidence in my body and how it's tracking this pre-season."

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Dank claims injections were clean

Former Essendon fitness guru Steve Dank has denied giving Bombers players performance-enhancing drugs. Source: The Daily Telegraph

EXCLUSIVE: THE man at the centre of the Essendon drugs scandal, Stephen Dank, claims the injections he gave players last year were clean.

The club's former performance scientist yesterday emphatically rejected suggestions he had overseen the inappropriate use of supplements at the Bombers in 2012.

Asked directly by the Herald Sun yesterday: "Did you give the players banned/illegal/performance-enhancing drugs?"

Dank said: "No."

Herald Sun: "You didn't?"

Dank: "No."

But investigations are under way, as revealed in the Herald Sun yesterday, with the Australian Crime Commission heading a probe into sports, organised crime, Customs and performance-enhancing drugs.

It is understood the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, in conjunction with the AFL, will make a major announcement today about drugs in sport and its infiltration by organised criminals.

Former Bomber Mark McVeigh yesterday confirmed players were taken off-site for injections, but was adamant everything was above board.

Tony Doherty, a close friend of Dank, also supported him last night. Doherty, owner of Doherty's Gyms, said Dank would not have given AFL players banned substances.

"He would know the legalities of every substances," Doherty said. "When people hear the word injections they go into a frenzy."

Doherty was chatting with Bandido Toby Mitchell when the bikie enforcer was shot in an ambush in November 2011.

It has been confirmed footy's drugs probe was triggered on Monday when authorities contacted Essendon chiefs and warned them about serious investigations linked to the Bombers and other sporting codes.

Essendon immediately notified the AFL and asked the Australian Anti-Doping Authority to launch its own investigation into possible inappropriate use of supplements at the club in 2012.

The AFL is aware the sport is a target of criminal elements, and at least one Essendon figure has spoken to an organised crime investigative body about his knowledge of performance-enhancing drugs in football.

The Australian Federal Police is not involved, according to sources.

Dank is the central character in the scandal that threatens the existence of one of footy's most famous clubs.

Despite speculation that other clubs would emerge in the drugs scandal, no evidence has yet been found across the competition.

Coach James Hird yesterday maintained his club would be cleared of any wrongdoing.

Asked yesterday if he had confidence in high-performance manager Dean Robinson, who has been stood down, Hird said: "I have confidence in our processes at our footy club that we'd get it right. Our players are moving on, we're training hard, and we're looking forward to the start of the season.

"I'm sure it (the allegations) does have an effect (on them), but we're moving on," he said.

Mr Doherty said Dank would push the limits, but not cross them.

"As (Kyle) Reimers said, they were pretty close to the edge and Steve Dank would've been sailing along that edge gladly. But he wouldn't step over it, or risk the playing future of the players or the club," Mr Doherty said.

"He is smart enough to know exactly what he could and couldn't give to AFL players. He would be completely in touch with the WADA code, and would not put those players under risk," he said.

"I don't believe he would've been giving Essendon players illegal peptides."
 

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Tank threat to Dees' pokies revenue

Melbourne faces the prospect of losing $5m in pokies revenue if found guilty of tanking. Picture: Ellen Smith Source: Herald Sun

MELBOURNE faces the prospect of losing $5 million a year in poker-machine revenue if the club is found guilty by the AFL of "tanking" allegations.

An adverse finding into the claims, the subject of an exhaustive AFL investigation, could also force the resignation of senior staff.

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has the power to withdraw licences to operate electronic gaming machines and force the removal of key officials if it finds an organisation has acted inappropriately.

Melbourne owns the Bentleigh Club, which has 80 machines, and the Leighoak Hotel, at Oakleigh, which has 92 machines.

The Demons pocket about half of the $10 million the two gaming venues turn over annually.

"The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation will be considering the outcomes of the AFL's investigation in its own inquiry into the matter," a spokeswoman said.

Licensing expert Dennis Galimberti, of Hall & Thompson lawyers, said the commission could discipline a club or associated people if anything happened that meant they were not of good repute in regards to honesty and integrity.

"The VCGLR can also discipline the club even if it is associated with a person who conducts himself in such a way that he is not a person of good repute," Galimberti said.

"If the AFL was to find ... that the club or persons associated with the club have been involved in an attempt to alter the result of an AFL competition match or the organisation or the preparation of a match so that participants don't give their utmost performance, they may well be the subject matter of an inquiry conducted by the VCGLR.

"It may well lead to orders being made for interfering with the licence or requiring persons who are associated with the club to cease being associated with the club."

Melbourne has denied any wrongdoing.

The AFL has received a submission from Melbourne and is expected to soon announce whether the club has a case to answer.

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Dons ignored needle concerns

Essendon players train at Tullamarine yesterday in the wake of the drugs scandal embroiling the club. Picture: Hamish Blair Source: Herald Sun

SOME Essendon players were forced to continue taking injections against their will last season - despite voicing mid-year objections.

As the probe into Essendon's controversial supplements practices deepened yesterday, it emerged a group of players was told it was club policy to continue the "experimental" practice despite complaints.

Sources said players known to be deeply troubled by the injections were told they would continue as it was a team strategy.

The Essendon players, led by skipper Jobe Watson, yesterday met the AFL Players' Association and were briefed on their rights and the risks of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority-AFL probe.

They were told ignorance was no excuse if they had taken illegal substances.

The players' union is expected to engage a QC to oversee the matter.

Bombers coach James Hird talked to the players before training at Tullamarine.

The Herald Sun can reveal at least four Essendon players sought independent advice last year from a senior sports administration figure about the consent forms they were asked to sign while taking the supplements.

Recently retired Essendon onballer Mark McVeigh was adamant the club had done nothing wrong, saying he had taken only vitamins.

"I can honestly tell you that everything I took I knew 100 per cent that it was within the WADA and AFL doping regulations," he said.

Players were told that while it was pushing boundaries, the supplement program was legal and would help aid performance, boost recovery and help players sleep better.

As Geelong and the Gold Coast distanced themselves from the controversy despite links to Essendon sports scientist Stephen Dank, rival clubs scrutinised their own medical departments.

The AFL continues to search for evidence of the practice across other clubs, including whether Dank had personal clients from across the competition.

Hird reiterated his confidence in the club's compliance with WADA.

Asked yesterday if he had confidence in stood-down high-performance manager Dean Robinson, Hird said: "I have confidence in our processes at our footy club that we'd get it right.

"Our players are moving on, we're training hard and we're looking forward to the start of the season. I'm sure it (the allegations) does have an effect (on them), but we're moving on."

Club veteran Dustin Fletcher said: "I'm not too fussed about it, the boys upstairs will deal with it."

Former Port Adelaide captain Warren Tredrea yesterday revealed he was offered banned substances during his playing career by an individual outside the club.

"But I went and got it tested and came back with three illegal drugs in it," Tredrea said.
 

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Drugs on list sound alarm

Essendon bosses Ian Robson, David Evans and James Hird fronted the media yesterday. Picture: Scott Chris Source: Herald Sun

THE Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority website leaves athletes with little doubt when it comes to what's right and what's wrong.

Athletes, coaches and officials can type a substance into a search engine and check if it is banned.

And if they are not sure, there is a number to call.

World Anti-Doping Agency president John Fahey said yesterday ignorance was no excuse.

"It's each athlete's personal duty to ensure that no prohibited substances enter into his or her body," Fahey said.

"It's not necessary for the athlete to show intent or fault or negligence or knowingly use ... the simple fact is that the substance is in the body, then the offence is proven and the sanctions apply. There's no defence."

Select "Australian football", "male" and "athlete" and type "peptide", the drug alleged to be at the centre of Essendon's supplement use investigation, into the ASADA search engine and seven variants are listed.

Select six and a big red cross jumps up - growth hormone-releasing peptides are prohibited.

A search on the ASADA site for the amino acid Leucine, which becomes a peptide when joined with another amino acid, indicates it is not prohibited - as long as you don't inject it.

Leucine peptides and branched chain amino acids are the most common supplement peptides not banned under ASADA rules.

You can pick up a 300g tub of Leucine structured peptides powder online for $40.

"Peptides derived from whey protein, which are perfectly legal. You take them orally," said Wesley Hurrell, a science and biochemistry graduate who works at mrsupplement.com.au.

"They're probably the most expensive type of whey proteins."

Hurrell's colleague, Jerry Liu, who has a doctorate in nutrition and food chemistry, said growth hormone-releasing peptides such as GHRP6 "are completely synthetic, you can't find them in nature".

The banned substances are typically injected into people who have diminished growth, burns victims and the elderly.

"They trigger the release of growth hormones," Hurrell said.

"The major thing that growth hormone will do for an athlete is promote muscle growth and also help reduce fat."

While Hurrell said growth hormone-releasing peptides should be available only with a medical prescription, a quick search online unearths a 5mg vial of the banned GHRP6 available for shipment to Australia. It will cost you $40, plus shipping.

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Watson's Brownlow worry

Essendon skipper Jobe Watson could be stripped of his Brownlow Medal if drugs allegations against the Bombers are proven. Picture: Michael Klein. Source: Herald Sun

ESSENDON captain Jobe Watson would be the first AFL player to be stripped of his Brownlow Medal if serious drug allegations against the Bombers are proven.

But as his father Tim spoke of his anguish at that prospect, Watson was confident of his innocence despite taking supplements along with the rest of the Essendon list.

Watson has told family and confidantes that as far as he is aware, the supplements are legal.

Should the ASADA findings show Watson was one of the Essendon players who took illegal substances, he would almost certainly be stripped of the Brownlow Medal.

But Watson, who as captain had no knowledge of any suspicious substances, can only join his teammates and Essendon fans in awaiting the finding of the AFL-ASADA inquiry.

Watson said yesterday morning he would be gutted if Jobe lost the game's highest individual award.

"As a parent, I'd be devastated for him," Watson said yesterday on SEN.

"I'd be completely and utterly destroyed and that is one of the components of this story too.

"There are lots of things that are going on that we don't know about."

Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell and Richmond's Trent Cotchin tied for second on 26 votes in last year's count.

Late yesterday, Watson said his son wanted the chance to explain Essendon's controversial strategy, confident the club had done nothing wrong.

"I was completely shocked and taken aback by it yesterday," Watson told Channel 7.

"But he explained to me nothing has been taken outside the guidelines stipulated by WADA and ASADA and the club doctor and he is really confident where it sits and he would like the chance to explain his story."

Watson said he would be surprised if the Bombers had allowed someone into their club who could do such damage.

"One would think that everybody within their football club has the checks and balances whereby they know the people they're employing," he said.

"They know the substances and the composition of any substances being given to the players as well ... getting their players fitter and faster and stronger.

"They're going to push those because that's what being in an elite environment is all about.

"But I hope that the correct checks and balances and the correct checks on the people are conducted before you employ them, because then you know exactly what it is that's going on within your football club."

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