THE AFL has tonight confirmed that an interim report from ASADA into the 2012 supplement program at Essendon has been made available to the league.
With ASADA recently attaining new coercive powers to compel high-interest witnesses to submit to questioning, the investigation will still be ongoing despite the release of this report.
The AFL will now go through the 400-page document before deciding on whether any infraction notices are warranted.
AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon said that ultimately, it will be him and the AFL who decide the issuing of any potential infraction notices.
“Given my responsibilities for issues relating to the AFL anti-doping code, competition integrity and AFL rules, I will oversee the AFL’s response to the interim report and in due course will make the report available to the Essendon Football Club and the AFL Commission for their review,” Dillon said.
The report will now be forwarded to Essendon.
A public release date is not yet known.
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SYDNEY premiership forward Mitch Morton has today announced his retirement effective at the end of the season.
Joining the club during the 2011 post-season, Morton has played 11 games for the Swans, including last years Grand Final triumph.
“It has been an absolute privilege and honour to be part of this football club for the past two seasons and I will always be grateful for the opportunity the Club has given me to improve,” Morton said.
“The 2012 premiership will always remain the highlight of my career and I look forward to staying in close contact with my premiership teammates for many years to come.
“I’m really excited about the next challenge in my life.
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ESSENDON Coach James Hird has reportedly hired leading QC Julian Burnside to represent him with ASADA’s report due for imminent release.
The Australian reports that Hird may potentially seek an injunction on the public release of the report should it clear the players.
In further revelations, biochemist Shane Charter has told The Age today that Steven Dank used the rumour surrounding Collingwood to Convince James Hird to proceed with the controversial supplement program.
”Dank had been telling Hird that Collingwood was on human growth hormone and that we had to get the peptide program over the line.
”He said to James when I was there, ‘Shane will prove my point’. He was talking about HGH. He was saying that, ‘Shane has his ear to the ground on who is using it’.
”I had no knowledge. I didn’t sell, supply or know anything about the Collingwood program.”
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DALE Thomas is set to make his football comeback in the next fortnight as the star midfielder continues his recovery from ankle surgery.
Speaking to Nova this morning, the Pie said he was excited to be back out on the track.
“Yesterday was the first day back out on the track with the boys, it’s good to be back,” Thomas stated.
When asked about when he expects to return, Thomas was optimistic.
“I reckon a couple of weeks so when the boys are up in Sydney (in Round 20).
“I think that’s next weekend maybe. I’ll hopefully have a run around (either) next weekend or the weekend after. It probably won’t be in the seniors.”
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EMBATTLED Saint Ahmed Saad will not play for St Kilda this week as the Saints forward deals with the fallout after testing positive to a prohibitive substance.
The Saints, like in the Milne case, are concerned with Saad’s welfare and are of the belief that playing in the AFL is currently not in his best interests.
The Herald Sun reports that St Kilda have yet to decide if Saad will play for VFL affiliate Sandringham.
The decision comes after it has been revealed Saad’s positive test came as a result of mixing a supplement with liquid before a match, which in turn created a ‘specified stimulant’.
A specified substance is strictly prohibited on match day.
The positive test is alleged to have occurred prior to St Kilda’s clash with Fremantle at Patersons Stadium in Round 15.
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ESSENDON continue to sweat on the outcome of the ASADA investigation as the Herald Sun report that no players have currently received a notice from the anti-doping authority that would instigate an infraction notice.
ASADA told the Herald Sun that “when ASADA believes someone has possibly committed an anti-doping rule violation, it will write to that individual in accordance with the National Anti-Doping Scheme providing them with an opportunity to make a submission”.
The ASADA report, likely to be delivered to the AFL and Essendon this coming week, will not be available to the public initially.
The same publication have also written that August 26 would be the likely date that Essendon would be asked to face a meeting of the AFL Commission to answer to any potential charges.
With a Commission hearing also scheduled on August 12, it would be likely that the Commission would inform Essendon of any charges at the first meeting, allowing the club the required two weeks to prepare a response.
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COLLINGWOOD and Essendon have both issued strong denials after allegations emerged in relation to Collingwood’s supplement program.
The allegations came about after former Essendon fitness guru Dean Robinson alleged that Hird had told Robinson of his suspicions surrounding Collingwood and the use of Human Growth Hormone.
Collingwood responded emphatically on Thursday declaring that the allegation was “totally false”.
Essendon too denied the allegation from Robinson ”Contrary to what was claimed, James Hird and Essendon have never held the view that Collingwood, West Coast or Hawthorn have been involved with illegal or prohibited supplements,” new Essendon Chairman Paul Little said.
The allegations come as Collingwood and Essendon get set to clash on Sunday at the MCG.
