Essendon chairman David Evans announces a full external review of the club's governance and processes.
Essendon coach James Hird. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun
Essendon coach James Hird. Source: Herald Sun
COACH James Hird and senior assistant Mark Thompson have been virtually assured they will remain at Essendon despite the club opening its doors to an independent investigator.
The Bombers yesterday employed former Telstra chief Dr Ziggy Switkowski to ascertain how the club found itself in an anti-doping investigation and what "irregular practices" took place.
His finding will be announced to members.
It is the third investigation into Essendon's 2012 supplement program following that of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and the AFL.
The futures of key personnel, including Hird, Thompson and chief executive Ian Robson, will be closely examined.
Bomber fans 'deserve truth'
Evans was reluctant to comment about individuals, but said the key football department duo had his support.
"Of course I support James, he's one of my closest friends, he's doing a great job as coach," Evans said last night.
Asked about Thompson, he said: "They both have got my support."
He added: "But the focus is not about individuals. The focus is finding out what happened and dealing with the problems and getting the footy club back on track."
The investigation will centre on the medical procedures that took place, the reporting processes, the role of club doctor Bruce Reid - specifically what took place without his knowledge - and what role sports scientist Stephen Dank and high-performance manager Dean Robinson played. Dank parted ways with the club last year and Robinson is suspended pending the probe.
"The strategy is get to the bottom of what happened, get to a position where we, hopefully, probably are ahead of the game as far as the ASADA investigation, as far as what happened so we can makes some changes before the investigation finishes," said Evans.
The "irregular practices" include off-site injections at an anti-ageing clinic across the road from Windy Hill, the use of registered nurses and other outside medical staff, and full determination of who knew about the consent forms signed by the players.
The Bombers expect to prove that irregular practices do not mean illegal practices.
"There are practices which have gone on that I don't condone and it's one of the reasons why we went to the AFL three weeks ago and made the announcement today," Evans said.
"There's some stuff at the club that needs to be tightened."
The review will be handed to the AFL and ASADA.
"I am in constant dialogue with ASADA, and they have welcomed this . . . it's clear their investigation is months (away) rather than weeks," Evans said.
"I've asked our members and the public to remember that no player has tested positive to performance-enhancing substances."
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