Stephen Dank will front the AFL Tribunal next week, still fighting to clear his name

STEPHEN Dank has the power to call witnesses in an open hearing into Essendon’s supplements saga and has previously threatened to quiz key figures including James Hird and Andrew Demetriou.

Stephen Dank after appearing in the Supreme Court.

THE mastermind of the Essendon drugs regime will front an AFL tribunal on Monday in a bid to overturn his lifetime ban from sport.

Sports scientist Stephen Dank has won the right to have his hearing before the AFL appeals board held in public — a move that had been contested by ASADA.

Dank’s appeal will run for three days and will re-hear all the evidence in the case, with all parties able to call witnesses.

The AFL anti-doping appeals board took the unusual step on Friday of issuing a press release to say reports in Fairfax Media that Dank would not be able to speak at the hearing or call witnesses are “totally incorrect”.

“As is clear from all rulings of the board leading up to fixing the date for the hearing of the appeal, all parties shall be entitled to call and rely upon such oral or written evidence as is relevant and make such oral or written submissions as they consider appropriate,” appeals board chairman Peter O’Callaghan and members Murray Kellam and Geoff Giudice said.

Dank has previously threatened to call key players in the four-year drugs saga, including James Hird, Andrew Demetriou, Ian Robson and David Evans.

Under tribunal rules, Dank is required to inform potential witnesses prior to the hearing.

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Dank was found guilty of 10 ­violations of the AFL anti-doping code in August last year, including trafficking.

Tuesday’s awarding of Jobe Watson’s 2012 Brownlow Medal to Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell was seen as an end to the four-year Essendon supplements saga, but Dank is still fighting to clear his name.

The breaches took place when Dank worked at Essendon in 2012 and at the Gold Coast Suns in 2010.

He was also found guilty of supplying a banned substance to a Carlton support person in 2012.

But more than 20 charges, including all those relating to the alleged administering of banned drugs to AFL players, were dismissed.