Watson: Dons' parents in good spirits

Tim Watson faces the media after the meeting between the Essendon Football Club and players' parents last night. Picture: Tim Carrafa Source: Herald Sun

Essendon recruit Brendon Goddard says his new Bombers teammates are anxious about the doping probe.

ESSENDON champion Tim Watson says the players' parents are satisfied the football club has their sons' best interests at heart as they cope with the unfolding drugs scandal.

The father of club captain Jobe Watson said parents were in good spirits following a meeting between Essendon officials and parents at Windy Hill, despite a lot of questions remaining unanswered.

"What I'd like to say is a lot of parents had a lot of questions that they wanted answered. Some of these were answered by the club, some of these weren't answered by the club because they were not in a position to be able to answer those questions," Watson said to a waiting media pack following the hour-long meeting.

"But I think as a group of parents we've come away feeling that the club obviously has our son's interests at heart. That is the number one priority for James Hird and David Evans, who was present, Ian Robson, the CEO of the club, too.

"So we're very satisfied that our boys are in good hands and the club is doing all they possibly can under the circumstances."

Dank says coaches took drugs

Club Chairman David Evans said the club had a "fruitful discussion" with parents.

"It was a very positive meeting and we've commited to them that we'd come back to them with more information when we get it.

"We had a good, fruitful discussion," Mr Evans said.

But he remained tight-lipped about the contents of the meeting,

"As you're aware there's still an investigation that's now underway with ASADA and the AFL and we're cooperating with that and that's all I can really say at the moment."

Parents were reluctant to speak before the meeting, saying they have been told not to talk to the media.

 But Mandy and Bernie Crameri, parents of forward Stewart Crameri, threw their support behind the club.

"We're confident the proper procedures have been put in place," Mrs Crameri said.

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AFL boss warns on bikie links

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou speaking at a press conference after the release of an ACC report into drug and crime links to Australian sport last week. Picture: Gary Ramage Source: News Limited

THE AFL has revealed "serious concerns" about players associating with outlaw bikie gangs.

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou said last night all clubs had been warned of growing links between footballers and organised crime groups, namely bikies, who dealt in illicit and performance-enhancing drugs.

Phone taps have picked up the names of some players, given to the AFL by the Australian Crime Commission. Clubs will be alerted at meetings during the next fortnight.

"It is a serious concern and should be of serious concern for all those people involved in sport," Mr Demetriou said about the bikie infiltration.

"We were briefed by the ACC about the threats of organised crime infiltrating Australian sport, and they use 'vulnerable players', they called them, through this link of illicit drugs or performance-enhancing drugs or gambling because they are all linked.

"When we had the drugs summit, the federal police and the Victorian police told every CEO exactly the same thing.

They said organised crime figures are cohorting with your players, you need to be aware."

At the drugs summit, high-ranking Victorian policeman and former Richmond premiership player Emmett Dunne gave an example of how organised crime figures attempted to trap officers in compromising positions at strip clubs.

He said one strip club offered free entry and free alcohol if an officer "flashed his badge", to potentially catch him acting improperly and then use it against him.

One club CEO told the Herald Sun last night: "The inference is, that's what they could do to players."

Mr Demetriou said senior officials at every club would be briefed over the ACC report and drug code changes.

The Herald Sun has also learned:

A RETIRED AFL legend has links to a drug-dealing Melbourne bikie.

A FOOTY glamour boy was found using cocaine in a toilet at a club supporters' day.

A PROMINENT player was caught snorting cocaine during a promotional barbecue.

Victoria Police sources said yesterday they were also aware of frequent contact between bikies and footballers.

Much of the contact was through popular inner-suburban nightclubs frequented by both parties, and strip clubs.

One detective said it was possible that in many cases footballers were not aware of who they were talking to.

mark.robinson@news.com.au

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Dank says coaches took drugs

Steve Dank has told the ABC's 7.30 that Essendon coach James Hird was fully informed about the nature of the program the biochemist was paid to run at the club. Courtesy: 7.30, ABC

The scientist at the centre of Essendon's controversial performance supplements program says it was within the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Courtesy: 7.30, ABC

The man at the centre of Essendon drug allegations has launched a $10 million defamation suit against various media outlets.

Stephen Dank speaks out on the ABC's 7.30 program last night. Picture: Channel ABC Source: Supplied

ESSENDON coaches took drugs that were banned for players, the former club sports scientist at the centre of the Bombers' drugs crisis claims.

Stephen Dank last night said coaches - whom he did not name - took substances not approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

"A couple of coaches were using supplements that were a little bit outside the WADA code but, again, they were entitled to it and nothing illegal in those," Dank said.

In an explosive interview with ABC's 7.30, Dank also claimed head coach James Hird had full knowledge of the players' 2012 supplement regime, now at the centre of a doping authority probe.

Hird declined to respond to Dank's claims.

In other developments in the footy drugs scandal:

AFL chief Andrew Demetriou said he had "serious concerns" about players mixing with bikies.

CLUBS will be alerted in the next two weeks that phone taps have picked up the names of some players in contact with criminals.

Essendon's former sports scientist Steve Dank has told the ABC's 7.30 that coaches at the club took supplements that are prohibited for players. Courtesy: 7.30, ABC

BLOOD samples could be sent to Germany as part of the investigation of Essendon's drug controversy.

THE AFL maintained it could not notify a second club about an alleged rogue doper within its ranks.

Coaches are not bound by the restrictions WADA places on performance-enhancing drugs.

Dank stressed the substances administered to players were all "very, very legal and within the constraints of WADA".

Dank stressed last night "all levels" at the club were given regular details of the supplements program.

"There was a collective involvement - you know it wasn't just Steve Dank," he said.

Watson: Players' parents in good spirits

"There was certainly input from people outside myself. There was a very significant involvement from Dean (Robinson) as the high-performance manager, there was detailed discussion with James Hird, there was detailed discussion with the club doctor (Bruce Reid).

"They were sort of the main people involved in the knowledge of the program."

Wing and a prayer for Bombers

On the coaches' own drug regimes, Dank alleged: "There were some differences in what we offered the coaches. Let's face it, the coaches themselves are not subjected to any WADA code.

"Off the top of my head three, four or five taking vitamin supplements, protein supplements.

"A couple of coaches were using supplements that were a little bit outside the WADA code but again they were entitled to it and nothing illegal in those."

Essendon recruit Brendon Goddard says his new Bombers teammates are anxious about the doping probe.

The sports scientist declared his innocence throughout the interview, saying he was a biochemist and supplement programs were regularly used at most top AFL clubs.

He denied injecting players with a banned substance and said he was "very surprised" when the club called a conference announcing it was unaware of what the program involved.

Dank said the only supplements intravenously supplied were Vitamin D and Vitamin C. He denied peptides were injected but said up to four different peptide formulas could have been given to players.

 Sports scientist a broken man: lawyer

"We had a program, it was well documented, it was discussed at all levels throughout the club in terms of what the supplements were and the regime and dosages, and what time of the day or week you know," he said.

Dank runs two other rejuvenation clinics in Victoria and NSW that he said ran programs separate to his work with elite football teams.

A substance known as GHRP-6 or peptide 6 - listed on Mr Dank's clinic website - is a human growth hormone banned by the Australian Anti-Doping Authority of Australia.

Dank admitted selling the substance but denied it was used on elite athletes. He also rejected links with criminal gangs.

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Wing and a prayer for Bombers

The scientist at the centre of Essendon's controversial performance supplements program says it was within the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Courtesy: 7.30, ABC

Steve Dank has told the ABC's 7.30 that Essendon coach James Hird was fully informed about the nature of the program the biochemist was paid to run at the club. Courtesy: 7.30, ABC

Former Essendon sports scientist Stephen Dank in 2005 with NRL club Manly. Source: The Daily Telegraph

SAMPLES from a "tank" of frozen blood could be flown to a Cologne laboratory as part of the doping authority investigation into Essendon's use of supplements last season.

As former Essendon sports scientist Stephen Dank proclaimed his innocence last night, it emerged a world-first test for peptides could be used to analyse blood from Bombers players.

About 1000 frozen drug samples have been taken from athletes across Australia who are under suspicion for doping, have been previously target-tested or have achieved success, including Grand Final wins.

It is expected the blood of some Essendon players taken last year would be in the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority's repository, dubbed the "Tank" by insiders.

If that blood tested positive for performance-enhancing peptides, it would be sufficient proof that Essendon players had been injected with illegal substances, whether knowingly or otherwise.

Essendon officials last night briefed the parents of players, as the club braced for the full-scale Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and AFL probe.

Dank says coaches took drugs

It is expected the majority of players or even the entire list would soon be interviewed, as will the coaches.

The advanced testing would prove crucial in the ASADA probe, as peptides can not be detected in regulation tests and Dank is adamant he did nothing wrong.

Watson: Players' parents in good spirits

Re-testing blood could provide concrete proof, as would Australian Crime Commission evidence uncovered in its year-long investigation.

The Crime Commission has confirmed using wire taps, coercive interviews and surveillance to amass evidence for its report.

Former ASADA chief executive Richard Ings told the Herald Sun yesterday it was common for new testing procedures to be used in ASADA investigations.

Essendon recruit Brendon Goddard says his new Bombers teammates are anxious about the doping probe.

"If new intelligence comes up then you can thaw out the samples and target-test it," Ings said.

"In the case of peptide hormones there was no test for it, but now there is a German lab and ASADA can take Player X's sample and send it to Germany and have it tested for peptide hormones.

"It gives you a second bite of the cherry.

"If there is only one lab in the world which has a certain test, it is common to put it on a plane and get it tested."

Ings did not want to comment on the Essendon probe, but noted examples of players being given a 75 per cent discount on two-year bans if they could prove they had not knowingly ingested banned substances.

"They have to show they have no knowledge of what is going on, (and be) able to demonstrate exactly who gave it to them, and prove that the person gave it to him," Ings said.

"It is rare, but there are case studies and examples of it happening."

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Law experts say Hird accountable

Essendon chief executive Ian Robson, chairman David Evans and coach James Hird address the media when the story first broke last week. Picture: Chris Scott Source: Herald Sun

CORPORATE governance experts say Essendon chief executive Ian Robson and coach James Hird are in the gun, but club chairman David Evans may yet survive the fallout of the Bombers' drug investigation.

One authority said a case could be made for Robson and Hird to be sacked as they were responsible for the operational side, regardless of whether Essendon players were found to have taken performance-enhancing drugs.

While Evans and his board have control of the club, if Evans had no knowledge of the issues that have brought the Bombers to their knees, he could survive.

"The CEO would definitely be the person who the buck stops with," RMIT University professor Brendan O'Connell, a corporate governance expert, said.

"The board of directors of any company is supposed to oversee the CEO in terms of performance, so, in their (the directors) case, they're probably not fully accountable for this at this stage.

"Obviously, if something had come to light that they were aware of and then they chose not to do anything about it, it would be a different story.

"Clearly, what we're seeing in Essendon's case, they've - at the very least - pushed the envelope on what's acceptable from a normal ethical perspective and that's happened under his watch, so I think the CEO has a lot to say to this."

O'Connell said coach Hird should also be accountable, as well as the club's then football manager, Paul Hamilton, who resigned at the end of last year.

Watson: Players' parents in good spirits

"If it's proven they were (banned) substances, these senior people will have little choice but to resign their positions and take the accountability that goes with that," O'Connell said.

"If it's shown that they're not illegal substances, but they're certainly ones that are very questionable, then it becomes a really interesting exercise for the club and its directors.

Dank says coaches took drugs

"I think there needs to be some form of sanctions imposed by the club on these people.

"With the players, they (the club) are very quick to fine or suspend players if they misbehave or are in breach of their contract.

"I would suspect there's probably potential breach of contract by the coach and the CEO, too, because I'm sure their contract of employment would include that they won't bring the club into disrepute and I think everyone would see that already they have. The level of disrepute is really up in the air."

Law professor Ian Ramsay, from the University of Melbourne, said boards should have systems in place to ensure laws were followed.

Essendon recruit Brendon Goddard says his new Bombers teammates are anxious about the doping probe.

"If the board delegated, as would normally be expected, huge amounts of responsibility to a CEO and the board's done that to a competent CEO and the board's not on notice that anything's gone wrong, but something does go wrong, then in those circumstances the board wouldn't be liable because they've done all that could be expected," Ramsay said.

"Then it falls on the CEO. One issue always is whether boards are put on notice by something, whether there's been any mention in the press before this all erupted for example, of whether there were problems.

"We're talking about a duty owed by company directors to exercise reasonable care and diligence."

Sports scientist Stephen Dank left the club last year, but fitness expert Dean Robinson remains on staff under suspension pending the investigation.

Former Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett said he had faith in Evans.

"Essendon will have to resolve this themselves and I have confidence that their president will do so," Kennett said.

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Watt calls for blood profiles

Olympic silver medallist Mitchell Watt has encouraged the AFL to develop a blood profiling system in order to keep the sport clean. Picture: Phil Hillyard Source: The Daily Telegraph

OLYMPIC silver medallist Mitchell Watt says the AFL may have to build a biological blood profile for all players if it is determined to keep the game clean.

Watt yesterday told the Herald Sun he was tested for performance-enhancing drugs up to 10 times in a two-month European system.

He also has blood taken as often as every six months so the World Anti-Doping Agency can build a blood profile for him.

Watt said football codes would be naive not to think the same problems that were in track and field had not infiltrated their sports.

More than 50 AFL players have been target-tested by the AFL, but many are not tested at all in a season.

"I think anything we can do to help level the playing field people should be all for," Watt said.

"Blood passports involve a two-minute blood test and you only have to do it once or twice a year. I am surprised it's common practice for track and field, but not in football codes.

"I have got my blood taken every year for the past three years, and it measures different kinds of cells and hormones and matches them with the following year's result.

"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. It's naive to think it doesn't happen in football codes."
 

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AFL urged to name rogue doper

Gill McLachlan, AFL's CEO fronts the press to relay the latest information regarding AFL clubs and players under scrutiny.

The AFL says it is aware of only two specific cases where players or clubs may have breached the league's WADA code.

AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirms Essendon players are being investigated for use of performance enhancing drugs. Picture: Hamish Blair Source: Herald Sun

FRUSTRATED clubs have implored the AFL to come clean with the identity of an alleged rogue drug taker.

Confusion reigned last night after AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirmed multiple Essendon players were being investigated for performance enhancing drug use and revealed an individual player from an unknown second club had been named in the Australian Crime Commission coruption in sport report.

The AFL has sought permission from the Crime Commission to reveal currently classified details from the Operation Aperio report.

The league last night said it was still negotiating with the ACC over what could be released, to whom, and with what conditions.

"We've all just been left hanging because we don't know if it's us," one AFL chief executive said.

"I can't tell you if our club is clean because we haven't been told."

Other club chiefs shared the frustration that while it was known only two clubs had been implicated, the public was open to believe the second club was any one of 17 teams.

Essendon last night said it was "fully co-operating" with an Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation.

"In this case it is possible that players were administered the WADA-prohibited performance enhancing drugs without their knowledge or consent," McLachlan had said earlier.

Former ASADA Chairman Richard Ings says it will be difficult for the organisation to prove clubs and individuals are guilty of doping.

The mystery rogue player may not even still be at the club in question or in the AFL given McLachlan suggested he was confident of a clean 2013 season.

"The AFL is not aware of any issues, potential use of performance enhancing drugs by any players, on AFL lists coming into the 2013 season," McLachlan said.

"There are some potential historical issues that we are investigating, there are vulnerabilities, but at the moment that investigation will take some time and until we get to the bottom of that the season will go ahead until we have futher information."

In other developments yesterday:

JUSTICE Minister Jason Clare said phone taps had been used to help gather information on those believed to be involved in suspect practices.

MCLACHLAN said a resolution to the saga is likely to be months rather than weeks away.

THE AFL revealed approximately 1100 performance enhancing drug tests were conducted on AFL players last season. A similar number is planned for 2013.

THE league said despite the Crime Commission implicating two clubs in doping, it was aware of a wider danger of illicit drug use by players across the competition.

MCLACHLAN stated no AFL game was being investigated for match fixing.The Crime Commission has said one match-fixing inquiry is under way in Australia.

The AFL's statement yesterday leaves an NRL match as the most likely subject of that probe.

Minister for Home Affairs Jason Clare admits that players have come forward in relation to doping, following the ACC's damaging report.

While the AFL's net of suspicion was yesterday narrowed to two clubs, the NRL has been told it has six clubs with alleged links to the use of performance enhancing drugs and links with crime syndicates.

Clare said evidence against clubs and individuals specified in the ACC's confidential report had been passed to NSW and Victorian police.

"We're not just talking about evidence that's been collected through coercive hearings, we're talking about documentary evidence that the Crime Commission has got as well as the use of phone taps that corroborate all of the information they've got," Clare told ABC TV.

McLachlan said fans awaiting the investigation's outcome needed to be be patient.

"The reality is it's not going to be as quick as everybody would like," McLachlan said.

"It's not going to be as quick as the club, the players, the AFL, the media, the supporters would like.

"The reality is that the investigators - which ultimately is ASADA in conjunction with the AFL - has to get the right answers and that will take as long as it takes.

"It's more likely to be months rather than weeks."
 

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Lake has 'tall gorillas' covered

Josh Gibson says former Western Bulldogs defender Brian Lake will be a welcome addition to Hawthorn's backline. Picture: Nicole Garmston Source: Herald Sun

JOSH Gibson says new teammate Brian Lake will ease the pressure on Hawthorn's tall defenders this season.

Gibson said Lake would change the way he previously had to play the game and said the former Bulldog had already given him invaluable defensive insights.

"Obviously it's another big body to play on some of those tall gorillas," Gibson said.

"It's going to make my job a lot easier as well as some of the other guys...we can flick ideas off one another and work on our little secrets to beat certain forwards.

"He's slotted in really nicely and is going to be a really valuable member of the team this year."

Without Lake to support him, Gibson has already been the AFL's pre-eminent spoiler for the past three seasons, making 125 more spoils than anyone else since 2010.

Asked specifically what Lake's recruitment meant for him, Gibson said: "I might not have to play on some of those taller gorillas. I suppose it will allow me to match up on players more my height."

Youngster Ryan Schoenmakers also stands to benefit from Lake's presence in the backline given he won't be required to play on the opposition's best forward as much as he has in season's past.

"The beautiful thing about having Lakey is that he's really going to help develop Schoey's game and really help him work out how to play certain forwards," Gibson said.

"Schoey's improving all of the time and I think people forget how young he is. He's 22 and he's playing that key defender role which isn't easy.

"I'm sure he'll enjoy having Brian down there just as much as I will."

Despite the hype surrounding Lake's arrival, Gibson stressed the club's defence was not the only area that needed addressing in the wake of last year's agonising grand final defeat.

"I don't think it all comes down to our defence, there's plenty of areas all over the field that we want to improve on," he said.

"Marking those key forwards is one of the pieces of the puzzle and he's going to be really good for us in that sense, but we're not putting all of our eggs in one basket and just worrying about our defensive work and nothing else.

"Every year the game evolves and you've got to keep evolving with it."
 

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Drug tests off target

The AFL says it is aware of only two specific cases where players or clubs may have breached the league's WADA code.

Minister for Home Affairs Jason Clare admits that players have come forward in relation to doping, following the ACC's damaging report.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou and chairman Mike Fitzpatrick answer questions about the ACC investigation. Picture: David Caird Source: Herald Sun

THE AFL has known for several years that random testing of footballers for performance-enhancing drugs has almost no chance of catching dopers using cutting-edge substances.

The revelation means statistics showing players have not tested positive in recent years is almost irrelevant.

AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said on Thursday: "We feel the WADA testing was relatively successful to about 12 months ago, and it's become clear today it's not."

But the AFL's integrity department has known there is little to no chance that single random drug tests will find performance-enhancing peptides in a player.

The AFL has been aware of this for some time, which is why many players are not tested while others are subject to a battery of tests under target testing to form a biological blood passport.

While football codes are under siege, the AFL has been target testing players it suspects for at least three years, using sophisticated analysis, and is promising to catch drug cheats.

That analysis includes intelligence from police bodies including the Australian Crime Commission.

Now wire taps, forced interviews with the Australian Crime Commission and a potential paper trail can form part of a case against transgressors, potentially including in the Essendon case.

It is known a key Essendon figure spoke to the ACC in November last year, with the ASADA inquiry into the club to include seizing documents that may prove what peptides were given to players.

There is growing speculation Essendon consultant Stephen Dank may have been caught on wire taps by the ACC.

The AFL conducted about 1100 tests for performance-enhancing drugs last year, but some players can go several years without testing.

Someone with intimate knowledge of the system said this week: "It's not about the number of tests, because we can't test for peptides. It's about using an intelligence-led approach."

One AFL sports scientist said it was impossible to detect peptides and drugs replicating human growth hormone for several reasons.

Some are in the system for only a matter of hours, while cutting-edge designer drugs have molecules changed so they are indistinguishable in modern testing procedures.

The Herald Sun revealed on Friday that a group of players from a Victorian AFL club had regularly been target-tested in recent years.
 

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Edwards discovers his heritage

Richmond's Shane Edwards on the road to Santa Teresa - the place of his ancestors. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

THE bitumen lasts about 10 minutes as the road sweeps south from Alice Springs.

Then it's a vibrating combination of rocks, gravel and red dirt - interrupted by wild horses - before you get to Santa Teresa 80-odd kilometres down the road.

It takes an hour to get there, but for Shane Edwards it has taken a lot longer.

In fact, it has taken the Richmond forward all of his 24 years to truly arrive at this tiny Aboriginal settlement.

Edwards discovered little more than two weeks ago that his family heritage could be traced back to Santa Teresa, a town with nothing more than a store, school, health building and a sandy footy oval.

For Edwards, whose shyness prevented the Tigers and the AFL from becoming aware of his indigenous heritage for the first 18 months of his career, it is the latest piece in an emotional family puzzle he is piecing together with the help of his grandmother, Monica.

"It's just amazing, I can't believe how far back it goes now," Edwards said.

"Knowing what my grandmother had to do to find out where she came from. She's just done it through years and years of work. She was raised through the Catholic church and has just gone back to everyone she knew."

Edwards was born in Adelaide to parents Tara and Greg.

Shane Edwards in action for Richmond against the Indigenous All-Stars in Alice Springs on Friday. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

His grandmother Monica - on his mum's side - is indigenous and his great grandmother Elsie had lived in Santa Teresa before she and her brother were taken from their mum Annie (Edwards' great-great-grandmother).

All hail from the Arrernte tribe, one of the biggest in central Australia.

"They were taken down to Mt Gambier because they were half-caste," Edwards said.

"From there they went across to Adelaide. As long as I've known my grandmother she has lived in Salisbury (a suburb north-east of Adelaide)."

Edwards had been to Santa Teresa once before on a Richmond pre-season camp a few years ago.

But back then he was oblivious to his links to the area as he clowned around with teammates Dustin Martin and Kel Moore and the local kids.

It is why, during his second visit to the town last week, he quietly sneaked away for a precious moment of reflection and to take some photos.

"It was so much different this time," Edwards said.

"In one of the classrooms as soon as I said my great-grandmother's last name (Summerfield) the assistant principal recognised it like it was still around.

"I think that's amazing in any area to have a name still lingering.

"I loved saying, 'This is where I'm from'. If I don't, I've got no chance of finding out any more. I'm just lucky that I've got the opportunity to play for Richmond and to actually go to a place like Santa Teresa.

"My brother Kym, living in Adelaide, is just as curious as I am, but he doesn't get the opportunity to go."

Edwards was bestowed the honour of captaining Richmond against the Indigenous All-Stars in Alice Springs on Friday.

Shane Edwards greets some fans and family members after the game. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

After the game, while his teammates let their hair down at Lasseters Hotel and Casino, Edwards was in a separate room meeting 40 members of the extended family he never knew he had.

There were more than a few tears.

Belinda Duarte, director of Richmond's Korin Gamadji Institute at Punt Rd, was there - and has been there throughout Edwards' journey of discovery.

"The one thing people don't necessarily know about Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander communities is the depth that they want to connect with family given the issues around the stolen generation," Duarte said.

"For Shane, having that in his history and to go back on the weekend and meet his family was really special.

"Seeing him go through that and sharing that with him as an Aboriginal person, we collectively feel that - because it's a part of that connection to home.

"It's the history that we inherit and what I love about our people is seeing the immensity of love and welcome. I'm getting teary just speaking about it.

"Given our history it wasn't a choice for us to experience a disconnect from family, it was a consequence of government policy."

Shane Edwards on the school oval at Santa Teresa - the place of his ancestors. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

Edwards believes the urge to find out more about his family's past has been fuelled by a developing maturity and his status as Richmond's only indigenous player.

His family tree is growing before his eyes and he is growing with it.

"I just said to my family that I wanted to know the finer details about everything. I was getting really curious," Edwards said.

Edwards has come a long way from his early days in yellow and black, when most of his Richmond teammates did not even know he was indigenous.

He wasn't invited to indigenous training camps and was left off official AFL indigenous lists.

He even played in the Dreamtime game against Essendon without being recognised.

He has always been proud of his heritage, but said he "didn't really speak up".

"Apart from not having such a cultured upbringing and that fact that I was pretty shy coming into the system, I didn't really know how to bring it up," he said.

Shane Edwards with the children of Santa Teresa. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

"I guess that shows how much the AFL has improved over the years since, and that was only seven years ago, when it comes to finding people lost in the system.

"Belinda found out and we just started talking. She was like, 'We've got to get you involved' and I was like, 'I want to be'. She was pretty surprised and a bit upset that it wasn't known.

"But I reckon all this has definitely matured me. Just the fact that I now know more about myself and more about my family.

"One side of my family is so pieced together, but this side, it's not until the last couple of years that I've found out about real places and people."
 

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