Essendon drugs scandal: The background behind the biggest doping saga in Australian sport

EVEN before the Court of Arbitration for Sport handed down its decision the Essendon supplements scandal had claimed its coach, two chairmen, a chief executive and football operations manager.

EVEN before the Court of Arbitration for Sport handed down its decision the Essendon supplements scandal had claimed its coach, two chairmen, a chief executive and football operations manager.

Millions of dollars have been drained from the club’s coffers to pay for the flood of legal challenges and defences related to the Australian Sports Anti Doping-Authority’s investigation.

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From the 34 players named as possibly taking a banned substance in 2012, only 12 remain at the club, another five ply their trade elsewhere, while 17 are no longer in the AFL system.

Today, it has been revealed they will be banned from playing for 12 months.

Club legend Tim Watson and father of current captain Jobe had previously said the players had been “worn down” from the three-year affair. The results last year seem to suggest it.

Essendon legend Tim Watson believes the supplements saga wore down the Bombers’ group. Picture: Colleen Petch

It has been 1071 days since February 2013 when the club self-reported to the AFL after being alerted its supplements program may have overstepped the rules.

The joint AFL/ASADA investigation dragged on throughout the 2013 season. Details of the supplement program and its possible use of banned substances continued to leak out to the media.

A club report by former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski found the 2012 supplements program produced a “pharmacologically experimental environment” never controlled by coaches or management.

Then there were the AFL sanctions.

The club was booted from the 2013 finals and crucial draft picks stripped. The club was also fined $2 million due to poor governance and key individuals, including coach James Hird, hit with their own whack.

In June 2014 show-cause notices were issued against 34 past and present players.

The next day Essendon chairman Paul Little and coach James Hird launched Federal Court action — claiming the joint investigation was unlawful.

James Hird and Paul Little at in the Federal Court in Melbourne in September, 2014. Picture: Mark Dadswell

The case was dismissed in September with Hird opting to appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court in October — he lost his appeal.

While the 2014 season was punctuated with court battles and tribunal hearings the team’s on-field form stayed strong. The Bombers reached the finals only to be beaten by North Melbourne at the first hurdle.

Through the 2014/15 summer the players’ case was heard by the AFL anti-doping tribunal.

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In March last year the tribunal’s chairman, David Jones, said the panel was not satisfied the players violated the AFL’s doping code.

There was mighty relief for the players as they thought the drug saga could finally be over.

But in May the World Anti-Doping Agency announced it would appeal the AFL’s tribunal decision. The wind was sucked out of the Essendon team’s sails again.

The team lost 12 of their last 13 games in 2015, Hird resigning with three games to go after the deplorable run, admitting the club would never be free of the stigma of the ASADA investigation while he and chairman Paul Little were still in their roles.

Little also stepped down at the end of 2015 to be replaced by former politician Lindsay Tanner.

John Worsfold (right) has been appointed Essendon’s new coach, and club CEO Xavier Campbell hopes his side can turn things around on the field. Picture: Michael Klein

Throughout the three years the legal bills kept piling up as the club defended its players.

At one point the club’s legal bill was conservatively set at $2 million, with insurance to cover some of this. Even so a $1.3 million loss was recorded in the 2015 financial year.

Chief executive Xavier Campbell said the loss was a “combination of abnormal costs associated with the ASADA/WADA issue and the impact of a disappointing season on the field”.

Hird’s legal bill alone topped $1.74 million, which he is still trying to claw back from insurers.

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In his final press conference as coach, Hird reflected on what might have been.

“We played well until the WADA appeal,” he said. “Perhaps if WADA hadn’t appealed, that would have given us clear air to play.

“I leave in a time the club needs strong guidance and care, but I hope to continue to help from afar.

“I’ve always cared deeply about the players.”