Essendon coach James Hird launches Supreme Court action against AFL after Wednesday's stunning revelations

UPDATES: JAMES Hird has made explosive claims against the AFL in documents lodged with the Supreme Court. Read them in full.

JAMES Hird's sensational Supreme Court writ against the AFL alleges league boss Andrew Demetriou and his deputy Gillon McLachlan "tipped off'' Essendon that its players had taken performance enhancing drugs.

Court documents detail a phone call from Demetriou to then club chairman David Evans on the night of February 4 which allegedly alerted the Bombers to investigations into drug use at the club in 2012.

"Evans communicated the Demetriou 'tip off' to Hird and other Essendon officials including (football boss) Danny Corcoran and (then CEO) Ian Robson,'' the document says.

It is also alleged the league's deputy CEO McLachlan said to Hird at a meeting at AFL House the following day words to the effect: "You can't say Essendon did not use drugs, because my information is you have used them. Brett Clothier knows the names of the drugs and he will be here soon. The club should come forward to the AFL and ask for an investigation.

PLAYER'S 'MUM' SLAMS HIRD, CLUB

"Essendon should go public about the uncertainty surrounding its supplement program in 2012.

"The Australian Crime Commission is going to hand down a report. There is going to be a meeting of all the (sporting) codes''

"If you come forward earlier and invite ASADA to investigate, then the investigation will look better for you''.

The AFL opted not to comment on the court claims when contacted today by Herald Sun.

A statement of claim filed with the court today has asked the court to require Hird’s case be heard by an independent tribunal.

It has asked for injunctions, both interlocutory and final, restraining the AFL from allowing Andrew Demetriou to sit on any tribunal.

It also wants any commissioner who has been given access to the ASADA Intererim report to be banned from future hearings

Hird is also seeking an injunction restraining the AFL from proceeding with any hearing until he has been given:

PROPER particulars of the charges against him

DETAILS of the witnesses ther AFL proposes to call

DETAILS of the substance of the evidence they will give and

COPIES of all documents the AFL will seek to tender at the hearing.

Hird is also seeking damages for interference with contractactual relations and costs.

The claim has accused the AFL of not acting impartially.

It has also raised concerns that Hird will not be able to meet his contractual obligations with Essendon for the remainder of the season and finals series.

Within the writ Hird’s lawyers make ti clear they believe the AFL tried to publicly smear the Bombers coach by making public information Hird believed he gave confidentially.

Claiming the AFL acted “in bad faith” the papers allege the AFL leaked information gained in the ASADA information in the Bombers which was “unfavourable to Hird” and which he has been given “no opportunity to answer”.

It says the AFL released the information which “would attract extensive publicity adverse to Hird’s interests” and that much of it was given directly to Fairfax media.

Lawyers for Hird filed a writ with the court about 10.50am.

"We will be instituting proceedings in the morning," the Essendon coach's lawyer, Stephen Amendola, told the Herald Sun yesterday.

The move comes as it emerged the AFL wanted the Bombers to accept a penalty deal which would have included Hird's head, a multi-million-dollar fine, the loss of possibly two years of draft picks and exclusion from this year's finals.

Essendon said it never considered the proposed "deal" from the AFL because it considered the sanction "armageddon".

GET LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY BELOW

Meanwhile, Western Bulldogs chairman Peter Gordon said he believes all other football clubs will stand behind the AFL.

His comments come as AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick called an extraordinary meeting of 18 club presidents for this afternoon.

Speaking on the ABC’s Jon Faine morning show, Mr Gordon said "it's time" clubs made it clear they would support the AFL over the saga.

He said the clubs - apart from Essendon - were becoming increasingly concerned by the dispute and called for "cool heads and mediation".

He said: "I’ve put it (a formal proposal for mediation) out there and I'm not the only person to have put it out there.

"We have, to a very large extent, wanted to allow Essendon to advance its defence and to conduct itself as it sees fit but I do think it's time that we as the other clubs make it clear that not only do we support the AFL but we expect the AFL to its job and protect the integrity of the game. From my point of view that's what they're doing.

"I expect as a stakeholder club in the AFL - and I know that this is true from some of the other presidents that I've had communication with - we want parents of players and young players to know that it's not something that's going to be a standard part of our industry from time to time."

The seven-month drugs scandal exploded yesterday after the AFL chose to release its full list of charges against the Bombers.

The 34-page document revealed a litany of allegations detailing drug injections, substances brought back from China by a convicted drug dealer and claims of a health scare for Hird after he was injected with an exotic substance.

Essendon described the move as an "ambush", and said a different set of charges had been presented to the club by the league in tense negotiations last week.

Hird, dressed in Essendon garb, emerged from his Toorak home this morning but was in no mood talk to a waiting media pack, offering a brief smile before he quickly drove away.

The list of charges states:

PLAYERS may have been given banned performance-enhancing drug Thymosin Beta-4, among 15 substances administered.

HIRD had suffered unspecified "significant" side-effects from drugs he injected in 2012.

CLUB doctor Bruce Reid expressed his concern and frustration over the supplements regime in his missing letter to other club officials.

HIRD was warned by an AFL integrity officer to avoid peptides.

PLAYERS were to receive 1500 injections of AOD-9604 and a version of Thymosin and more than 16,500 doses of Colostrum and 8000 doses of Tribulus.

AFL, Bombers head for legal showdown

"The AFL is determined to punish the Essendon Football Club, and four individuals personally, as though we were drug cheats," club chairman Paul Little said.

Detailing the charges, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou said: "The Essendon Football Club and other parties will be given every reasonable opportunity to answer these charges. There has been no predetermination of this matter."

One club president told the Herald Sun he expected the league to seek club support in punishing the Bombers and, potentially, kicking them out of the finals.

Hird health scare claims

Little confirmed he would front the meeting.

The league is determined to resolve the dispute in a hearing before the AFL Commission.

But Hird's lawyers, acting with the support of the club, will today ask the Supreme Court to back the coach's demands for an independent hearing and the removal of AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou from any proceedings.

James Hird

The Supreme Court statement of claim is also expected to detail the events of early February and the AFL's alleged involvement in the club's decision to "self-report" to the league and Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.

What Little and Hird said in full

The AFL charged Essendon and its four officials - Hird, club doctor Bruce Reid, assistant coach Mark Thompson and footy boss Danny Corcoran - with bringing the game into disrepute 10 days ago over the 2012 supplements program.

The full text of Dr Reid's letter and supporting documentation relating to the possible use of banned drugs feature in the 34-page document released.

Essendon also took aim at the AFL over claims a former member of the AFL's anti-doping tribunal was told in February that AOD-9604 was safe and not prohibited.

Dr Andrew Garnham, currently working as a consultant for Essendon, said scientific evidence showed AOD-9604 had minimal side-effects.

Doc's letter reveals he was kept in dark

"That the AFL has known this for six months but let questions hang over the head of the club and most unforgivably our players, is reprehensible," Little said.

ASADA maintained it had never approved the use of AOD-9604.

A defiant Hird said: "The AFL today continued its trial by media of me. We only received notification minutes before the AFL charges were made public.

"The announcement by ambush confirms the AFL is running an agenda, which again calls into question its impartiality."

Demetriou said the charges were only alleged, and that Essendon and its officials, had "every opportunity" to defend themselves.

AFL knew about AOD-9604

Watch 24/7 coverage on Fox with news+

Replay Ando's chat below (On a mobile device? Click here for a better viewing experience)