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ESSENDON has vowed to vigorously defend charges laid against the club and four of its most senior officials.
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AFL chief Andrew Demetriou says details of the charges had to be released to end speculation.
But Demetriou was adamant the charges were purely alleged, and that the Essendon Football Club and its officials, James Hird, Danny Corcoran, Dr Bruce Reid and Mark Thompson, had "every opportunity" to defend themselves.
Dons chairman Paul Little and Hird responded with an extraordinary attack.
Hird claimed: "Throughout the course of this exercise I have been denied natural justice and today's ambush is another example of that."
Little added: "We do not consider the statement of grounds supporting the charge is justified by the evidence gathered during the investigation.
"It makes assertions that are simply not supported by the evidence.
"The time of the release is no coincidence.
"The release follows last night's revelation that the AFL has known since February of this year that one of the substances at the very heart of this, AOD-9604, was not banned and is not a banned substance.
"That the AFL has known this for six months but let questions hang over the heads of the club and most unforgivably our players is reprehensible.
"This being exposed by the AFL insider has promoted this latest PR attack on the club and the individuals concerned.
"The club had sought to prevent these charges being released for one very good reason: we believe a number of the allegations to be outrageous, without foundation or substantiation."
THE LETTER: DOC REID WARNED BOMBERS ABOUT CLUB'S SUPPLEMENTS PROGRAM
Demetriou said: "The AFL highlights that the Statement of Grounds contains the charges only and their correctness or otherwise remains to be determined.
"The Essendon Football Club and other parties will be given every reasonable opportunity to answer these charges.
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"There has been no predetermination of this matter by the AFL Commission.
"The AFL Commission has an open mind about whether Essendon has breached the AFL rules and regulations.
"I have decided that for the sake of everyone involved in the game – supporters, players, clubs and other key partners – that there must be transparency and clarity around this issue given the widespread speculation since the charges were announced on August 13."
Copies of the State of Grounds and ASADA report has been made available to the AFL Players' Association to distribute to Essendon players and their families.
AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick has also called a special meeting of the 18 club presidents for tomorrow.
The Herald Sun last Friday exclusively revealed details from the charge sheets.
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The charge sheets include revelations that:
ESSENDON players were to receive 1500 injections of AOD-9604 and Thymosin and more than 16,500 doses of Colostrum and 8000 doses of Tribulus.
THE program was to push the legal limits.
THE program involved the use of allegedly "beneficial'' and 'exotic'' compounds.
THE program's fitness strategy and use of supplements varied sharply to previous practices at Essendon.
IT involved injecting players with abnormal frequency.
THAT club figures were aware that the implementation of the program was determined without meaningful input from appropriately qualified people.
Which type of Thymosin – banned Beta 4 or permitted Thymosin Alpha is not specified in the charge sheets.
On Tuesday night, a former member of the AFL's Anti-Doping Tribunal claims he was told in February that AOD-9604 was safe and not prohibited.
Essendon champion Tim Watson called on AFL chief Andrew Demetriou to explain why the AFL did not reveal the information earlier.
Dr Andrew Garnham, currently working as a consultant for the Essendon Football Club, said scientific evidence showed AOD-9604, the substance at the centre of the Bombers' supplements saga, had minimal side effects.
"Like all drugs, there are some side effects, but we know that those side effects are minimal," Garnham told AFL 360.
"The advice that I had at that time was that AOD-9604 was considered under section S2 of the anti-doping code and was regarded as not prohibited."
Garnham said "preliminary laboratory work" suggested that AOD-9604 could repair injured cartilage, muscle and bone.
"(AOD-9604) may assist in the recovery of footballers where they obviously get fairly heavily knocked around in the course of the game, so it may just bring them up a day or two quicker," he said.
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"I understand it was on the basis of that possibility that it may have been used by football clubs, but at this stage, from scientific perspective we could really say that evidence is way way too early to give it any credence."
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Speaking on SEN radio, Garnham could not say if the drug was legal in 2012 when it was a key part of the Bombers' controversial supplement program.
It is believed Essendon players and partners were given the same information last night at an information session at Windy Hill as the Bombers prepare to take on the AFL over the supplements scandal.
"This parents meeting is the fifth in a series of meetings we've had with parents. The club takes the task of briefing parents very seriously," Bombers chairman Paul Little said.
When asked before the meeting whether the club would inform parents of the type of supplements administered to players, Mr Little replied, "We will wait to see what questions they ask about the supplements."
Meanwhile, the AFL is running out of time to decide Essendon's fate before the finals after the Bombers requested an adjournment.
Just hours after AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said he expected the case against the Bombers to go ahead as scheduled at Monday's AFL commission meeting, the club issued a brief statement saying it was not ready.
"Essendon Football Club has requested an adjournment of the hearing on 26 August," the statement said.
"Lawyers for the club requested the AFL advise which witnesses it would be calling, the evidence it expected those witnesses would give and specified procedural matters.
"As the AFL has not provided that information, the club is not in a position to proceed next week and that is why the matter needs to be adjourned."
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Demetriou said earlier if the Bombers did request a delay, it would likely be granted.
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The four individuals facing charges - coach James Hird, assistant Mark Thompson, football manager Danny Corcoran and club Dr Bruce Reid - had already been given more time to prepare their defences.
If the issue is not settled on Monday, it leaves only 10 more days before the start of the finals.
"If the AFL gives us the time we need to prepare for this, there is little chance it will be finished before the finals," Little said.
Talks are continuing between representatives of Essendon and the AFL in a bid to reach a settlement.
"The commission meeting is still going ahead next Monday because as I stand here we believe that Essendon Football Club will appear next Monday," Demetriou said.
"If there is an extension sought and granted, then we'll have to look at our options as the AFL Commission, but our assumption is that it's going ahead next Monday and I have no reason to believe that it won't."
If the club is found guilty, possible penalties include a fine, loss of future draft picks and being wiped of premiership points that would rule the club out of this year's finals - if the penalty is handed down in time.
Demetriou said he had no intention of bowing to Essendon demands he step aside from hearing the case, and repeated his preference for an open hearing, although that is yet to be confirmed.
He also said details of the charges against the Bombers were likely to be released "in coming days".
"It's important to make those public to answer lots of questions and put to bed some of the misinformation that's out there. I couldn't give you an exact day but it's our intention."
Demetriou said it wasn't unusual for extensions to be granted for accused parties to prepare their defence - as happened last year in the Kurt Tippett saga.
"It's not unusual and it's appropriate if people want more time ... there are thousands of pages of documents and people need to prepare.
"It would be preferable to have the matter heard next Monday, particularly to provide certainty for not just the football industry but all our supporters but the supporters of the Essendon Football Club and the Essendon Football Club itself."
Last Tuesday, AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon said: "The parties have been informed of the charges and that a hearing of the charges is scheduled to be held on Monday 26 August at AFL House.''
But all parties were informed by the league's lawyers that they would be granted extra time "to prepare adequately'' if required.
Charges of bringing the game into disrepute were laid by the AFL last Tuesday against the club, Hird, assistant coach Mark Thompson, football boss Danny Corcoran and club doctor Bruce Reid over Essendon's 2012 supplements program.
AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan said last month the league wanted the saga resolved before September.
"We're committed to bringing it to a head in August to ensure that we have a resolution of the issue prior to the finals series,'' McLachlan said.
"I think it goes to the heart of the integrity of our finals series.''
But the AFL and Essendon have been unable to strike a mutually acceptable deal.
- with Gilbert Gardiner, Al Paton and Angus Thompson
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