Asked about the progress of the Bock investigation, an ASADA spokesperson told the Herald Sun: “In the absence of a positive blood or urine test, ASADA must be satisfied that sufficient evidence exists to sustain a charge against an athlete."
Source: “ASADA accused of hypocrisy after former Gold Coast star Nathan Bock cleared of doping” - Michael Warner, HS.
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That behaviour was playing politics and I think sport should be above politics. Yeah I know its not, but it should be.
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Did the Suns inform the AFL of this at the time - early 2011?
If Suns did, then what action did the AFL take?
If no action, is the AFL derelict in duty to Essendon and its people?
If no informing by Suns, then it appears the Suns were in breach of AFL rules.
Did the Suns give ASADA a very different reason why employee was moved on?
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Travis Auld was GCS CEO at the time, now with the AFL . Mark Evans the current CEO.
Were the GCS players interviewed? Ablett night have been able to offer some insights of Dank and Weapon practices at Geelong and GCS .
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Point 1.
3 Amigos at Suns in Jan 2011 - Robinson, Dank and Jonah Oliver.
3 Amigos at Essendon in Jan 2012 - Robinson, Dank and Jonah Oliver.
Point 2.
“Last year, Ablett shared a house with Dean Robinson on the Gold Coast - the now-notorious ‘‘Weapon’’…” — The Age, Wilson, 1 Sept 2012, “Ablett’s aspect brightens”
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As has always been the case the AFL couldn’t afford to have GC & Robinson implicated
For starters it would have ruined that new club
Secondly it would then taint the Geelong flags
And thirdly the poster boy best player of AFL and Brownlow medalist would also have had rep shredded
It’s an AFL PR/brand damage nightmare
On top of Demetriou and rest of execs being in firing line & their gravy train derailed.
So isolate it to one club, offer up Essendon on a platter to ASADA with Robinson protected and keep GC & Melb out of it. As well as anything to do with Geelong.
Robinson may not have done anything wrong at any of the clubs but he could very easily have made the AFL think he did hence they bent over backwards for him IMO
Then again TB4 as a grey area drug might have been used commonly by rugby and some afl clubs pre the time WADA/ASADA decided all of a sudden it was banned.
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Interesting that Mckenna squarely points to Weapon as the main problem & credits him not Dank with “Weird & wonderful ideas”. That certainly flies in the face of the AFL’s narrative that Dank & Hird were masterminds & Robinson who of course is closely connected to Geelong flags was simply another victim of Hird’s maniacal reign.
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Ralph and McFarlane must have laughed themselves silly when they penned the words that it was all down to Bluey’s “ dramatic intervention”, when the only action they attribute to him was saying that there should be a “ green tick”
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Astounding how much credibility that green tick is given when it comes from the mouth of someone other than Hird.
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Richard Ings is a **** of the highest order. I had multiple twitter conversations (all respectful) with him surrounding the saga. He was adamant that WADA got it right and spruiked ■■■■ about how they would have arrived at the decision and the precedents they would have used. When I challenged him on this and asked him to name even one case where a charge was proved without either a positive test, a whistleblower or physical evidence he could not name a single instance and proceeded to block me. In multiple conversations I never once swore or abused him in any way, but as soon as I put the onus on him to provide the proof he said existed, I was made persona non grata.
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To be fair, your username was a little provocative
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Speaking of Robinson…
Quote 1
"Revelations of Robinson’s dealings with ASADA comes just days after the Herald Sun revealed Nathan Bock had been cleared of doping, despite previous statements to ASADA by the high-performance coach that he had given the former Suns star the banned peptide CJC-1295.
“ASADA has failed to explain why Robinson has not been pursued over his involvement in the Bock case or the Bombers scandal.”
Source: HS, "Claims former Essendon strength coach Dean Robinson helped ASADA investigators"
Quote 2
"For five minutes, the recording equipment was switched off while the ASADA and an AFL investigations team conferred with one of the key witnesses in the Essendon doping scandal. Once switched back on, it captured the moment that Robinson abruptly shifted the supplements saga to a place the AFL least wanted it to land.
“Yes, there was a player at the Gold Coast, Nathan Bock, that was provided a vial of CJC-1295 by Stephen Dank at my house.’’
“It was a Thursday morning, March 21, 2013. An ASADA and AFL investigation into the suspected use of banned peptides at Essendon was in its sixth week and Robinson, the club’s former high-performance manager, was starting his third straight day of intense questioning about what happened at Windy Hill. For the next little while, he told a story not of Essendon, but the strongest doping case involving any AFL player in the entire saga; a case ASADA this week reluctantly reopened after failing to adequately explain why it never pursued charges against Bock and Robinson.”
Source: “Bock’s drug stain that threatened AFL’s rising Suns” - Chip Le Grand, The Australian, 21 March 2016.
Le Grand reveals this in 2016. The AFL and ASADA knew of this information for 3 years and did nothing.
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Hate reading this hypocrisy.
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That’s how they shut down whistleblowers. That’s how the truth is suppressed.
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There is a key aspect missing from McKenna’s account. Did GC actually move Robinson on? I don’t believe they did. I believe we poached him and the AFL were none too pleased about it.
Methinks Bluey and GC pay themselves unwarranted credit. And if the computer records show nothing, what was it McKenna supposedly had a problem with? Those two points show something as a combo.
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There was no poaching.
Robinson contacted bombers.
Below is from EFC affidavit - page 3 - tendered to court in its legal battle against Robinson.
“About July 2011, Mr Robinson contacted Brendan McCartney, then an assistant coach at EFC by telephone and indicated that things were not working out for him at Gold Coast Football Club and that he was available to come to EFC if they wanted him.”
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Could still be poaching
Robinson makes an allegation.
Essendon responds and refutes that. Note (d)
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Respect for your level of research, but didn’t EFC settle this case with a solid payout to the world’s quickest-promoted accountant?
Thanks for your compliment but settling is another topic.
Interesting that the club, after saying no way a few times, then caved when Robinson subpoenaed people like Lukin and other EFC people AND the AFL top brass.
For some reason Robinson never went after Hird, Reid, Thompson or Corcoran.
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