He probably should have been sacked after the King Kong comment too.
Just another little strand in the cable.
Fkg carnts, the lot of them.
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They didnât need Sarah anyway. They couldâve waited to see if Paddy Ryderâs kids were okay.
I hate this thread.
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He should.
Definitely had Liz Lukinâs fingerprints all over it.
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Iâm pretty sure a money $$$ payment would make âSarahâ come out of hiding and talk.
Imagine Eddie if he did a one on one with her identity remaining a secret. Get her to spill the beans on who hired her, what script was given, how much she was paid etc. A signed affidavit and voice expert confirming it was her should do the job.
AFL would try to distance themselves but as with the original call the damage would be done.
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Such nostalgiaâŚ
It was the saga that made me create a Blitz account.
IIRC there was a time when you couldnât read the Saga thread without a login.
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I suspect itâd need to be a lot. And itâs quite possible she wasnât hired for the job, but she was literally working directly for the AFL or their PR firm at the time, in which case speaking out now or at any time would be a career-ender.
Welcome, Johnny-come-lately. 
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Yep, as I said above: the AwFLâs lawyers would have got some iron-clad NDA. Breaking it would be tantamount to financial and career suicide.
It was used to build the media hysteria even more to enable the AFL to justify kicking the team out of the finals.
It was more than disgraceful, which makes Eddieâs current position astounding.
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And Hirds.
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I remember getting banned for throwing out the idea that maybe we did, in fact, dope
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Got off lightly.
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Yeah, Gil had enough help with that bullshit.
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Bruce Francis response to Jon Ralph.
Dear Mr Ralph
Where is Michael Warner when you need him?
Why does the Herald Sun use second-eleven or second-eighteen or is it second-twenty-three reporters on major stories?
If there were an editor in Australia with intestinal fortitude, the AFL Essendon saga would be the biggest story in Australian sporting history. Furthermore, Jobe Watson would have his Brownlow back, the 34 players would have their guilty findings overturned and the AFL, past and present Essendon boards and the media would beg James Hird for forgiveness and Andrew Dillon could possibly be looking for a job.
Heck, I would not have suffered from tacotsubo cardiomyopathy over the disdain with which I have been treated just for trying to obtain justice for people you claim you love. Furthermore, I would have been ecstatic if there were just one editor in the country who forced one of his/her journalists to read my analyses based on 20,000 hours research. Surely, they had nothing to lose, and that demanding that I not email them wasnât acceptable behaviour! On one occasion I created a list off the top of my head of scoops that I distributed that no journalist embraced. I stopped writing at 73. Sadly, today, the only scoop a sports journalist is interested in is an ice cream cone.
Unfortunately, there is not a journalist in Australia besides Chip Le Grand, Michael Warner, Warwick Hadfield, Tracey Holmes and Graham Cornes courageous enough to expose the unprecedented corruption.
The alleged key points in your 1 June 2026 article are incomprehensible and in keeping with a student on work experience. viz
Item (Ralph) 1: âHe [Ted Richards]is one of at least three Essendon board members who will have intimate knowledge of the ASADA scandal that cost the club and Watson so dearly.â
My Comment:
Clearly, the other board members would be just as ignorant. During the saga one Essendon board member constantly phoned and emailed me seeking information because I had information they had been denied.
No one, including the AFL, ASADA, SIA, WADA, CAS, the media, and former Essendon board members has intimate knowledge of the ASADA [AFL, WADA, CAS, media and Gillard Government] scandal. Given the ignorance of the forementioned organisations, res ipsa loquitur that Ted Richards, Mr Tony Howard KC, and Ms Dorothy Hisgrove would not have a clue about what happened, let alone have intimate knowledge.
In my view, if those organisations had understood the full extent of the AFLâs alleged corruption and the blackmail in August 2013 of James Hird during the saga, they would have ensured that possible criminal charges followed.
If the forementioned organisations knew that the AFL had decided on Hirdâs guilt and penalty in June 2013, which was six weeks before the AFL/ASADA investigation was completed, they would have demanded that the investigation be terminated.
If the above organisations knew about the ASADA and SIA corruption and that ASADA breached section 317 of the Crimes Act by tampering with the evidence through changing Thymosin to Thymosin Beta-4 on fifty-one occasions, they would not have charged the 34 players with being administered Thymosin Beta-4.
Jon, I think you are even smart enough to know that if Thymosin were the same substance as Thymosin Beta-4, as claimed by ASADA and WADA, there would have been no need to change Thymosin to Thymosin Beta-4 on fifty-one occasions. As it transpires, WADAâs expert witnesses Professor Handelsman and Professor Boyd contradicted ASADAâs keystone cops and testified that Thymosin and Thymosin Beta-4 were different substances. Both testified under oath that Thymosin Beta-4 contained 43 amino acids in a specific sequence and that Thymosin contained significantly fewer amino acids.
If the above organisations knew that ASADAâs lead ex-cop investigator Aaron Walker stated at clause 93 of his 15 November 2015 affidavit that there was no evidence that either Stephen Dank or Essendon took possession of any form of Thymosin in calendar 2011 and 2012, they would have demanded a not guilty verdict. I know Michael Warner and Graham Cornes would have had the intestinal fortitude to write such a story.
For your edification, after an 18-day hearing, the AFL Tribunal, which included two judges and a barrister, found the 34 players NOT GUILTY.
Stephen Dank was found NOT GUILTY of administering or attempting to administer Thymosin Beta-4 to the players and NOT GUILTY of assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting or covering up administration of Thymosin Beta-4.
ASADA chose not to appeal the decision against the players and Dank. Incomprehensibly, WADA, urged on by a senior Australian sports official named redacted, and assisted by Coalition Sports Minister Sussan Ley, appealed the NOT GUILTY decision to the players. However, they ACCEPTED the NOT GUILTY decision against Dank, which prompts the question, who administered the not available Thymosin Beta-4?
If the above organisations knew about WADA and CASâs alleged corruption they would have called for an investigation followed by the overturning of the guilty findings**.**
Item (Ralph) 2: âAll of them will have their own independent views about Hird, who has repeatedly apologised for his role in a saga that is now over a decade ago.â
My Comment:
According to the Essendon matrix organisational structure; Hirdâs job responsibilities; the AFL Essendon Player tripartite agreement; and the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act, Hird had no more role to play than a secretary. In possibly a world first, despite being the senior coach, he was not a member of the football department in Essendonâs organisational structure. According to Essendonâs organisational structure, and the law, assistant four assistant coaches notwithstanding, no one, including Stephen Dank, Bruce Reid and Dean Robinson reported to him.
Hird didnât even report to the football manager Paul Hamilton â a person who informed the staff on the 2 February 2012 that everything to do with the supplement programme had to come across his desk. To restate, Hird had no right or legal power to admonish, let alone discipline Robinson or Corcoran or Dank or anyone in any department other than his own coaching department.
If Mr Howard, Ms Hisgrove and Mr Richards knew that the AFL and Essendon breached their responsibilities under the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act and their obligations under the tripartite AFL/Essendon/Player contract to provide a safe workplace, they would also know the AFL and Essendon board should have been charged and penalised for not providing a safe workplace, not Hird.
Item (Ralph) 3:*** âBut all three of those board members are fully aware of the pain and aftershocks of the long-running saga and how it might instruct Hirdâs candidacy.â*
My Comment:
Lewis Carroll would have been proud of you. Those three board members would not know that if Hirdâs suicide attempt had been successful, the perpetrators behind the evil unjustified attacks on him may have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Clearly, they are unaware that Hird should never have been found guilty in the AFL and mediaâs eyes.
Item (Ralph) 4:*** âDuring that time the league was at war with Essendon over its conduct as Hird took supreme court action against the AFL as he demanded Andrew Demetriou be barred from the AFLâs hearing into the supplements program.â*
My Comment:
Jon, I was home schooled in the ethics of journalism 101 before your parents were born but I can still remember that omitting a key fact is as unethical as fabricating or lying. I know Andrew Demetriou and Gillon McLachlan thought lying wasnât an issue, but surely, omitting a key fact is almost lying to the reader!
You knew that James Hird withdrew his Supreme Court action because the AFL blackmailed him, and for some unknown reason, you have failed to include that fact in todayâs story. Your narrative implies Hird has lots of baggage from the saga. In a just world, he has none. Clearly, the baggage has resulted from AFL corruption and the mediaâs lack of courage.
Just prior to the 13 August 2013, the AFL blackmailed Hird through several evil threats that should have resulted in criminal charges. Viz:
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âI would never work in the football industry again if I continued my fight [in the Supreme Court] against the AFL.
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âThat the AFL would make the charges against the Essendon FC and myself public if I didnât take their deal.
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âThat the AFL would take the ANZAC day game away from Essendon.
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âThat the AFL would make Essendon play for no points in 2014 unless I took the deal.
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âThat they would suspend the players unless we took the deal.
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âThat unless I took the deal, they would charge Simon Goodwin, James and Mark Thompson.â
Item (Ralph) 5:*** âIf Hird was appointed would the club put him on a rolling employment agreement given they have already paid him $2 million in separate payouts in 2014 and 2016 not to coach the club?â*
My Comment:
âRolling employment agreement.â Give me a break. Lewis Carroll one minute, now you are playing the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, Father Christmas and the federal treasurer Snake Chalmers. Whatâs next. Surely, you donât think that you are JC on Phar Lap using a battery whip? Jon, I would love to buy you at my price and sell you at your price.
Essendon paid Hird as an acknowledgement that it was complicit with the AFL in treating him unjustly. Mind you, $2 million was not a big deal at the time for Essendon because it capitulated to the AFL and reportedly handed over $2 million to head office for a bogus fine. As an aside, I have over 30 thousand documents in my files, including 6000 plus Dank texts and emails; all 138 ASADA interviews; and off the top-of-my-head, about 19,000 texts and emails. There is only one document I still require. I should like to look at the AFLâs records to ascertain whether Essendon actually paid the $2 million!
Item (Ralph) 6: âThis time around it is former president Paul Little offering support for Hird â and potentially financial support.â
My Comment:
Why wouldnât Mr Little offer Hird support [as coach] and potentially financial support? I wrote to Mr Little at 9:51 PM on 10 November 2016 and asked him to reach out to James because after speaking to James, I thought he was suicidal.
Although, Mr Little was graceful enough to answer other emails, he didnât acknowledge me flagging a potential suicide by James â an attempt that was made a few weeks later 5 January 2017.
And letâs not forget that Mr Little was a member of the Essendon board in March 2013 that endorsed the AFL, ASADA, Gillard Government and David Evans and Ian Robsonâs decision at their 9 February 2013 Canberra meeting to fix the result of the ASADA/AFL investigation.
For your edification, Richard Eccles representing Prime Minister Julia Gillard, asked McLachlan: âWhat are you after?â
ASADA CEO Aurora Andruskaâs notebook and subsequent Federal Court affidavit records McLachlanâs response: âCome to arrangement. Players found to be innocent. This is the outcome. Sanctions against Essendon [club but not against the board]. [The Essendon club] held responsible. Hold individuals accountable.â Andruska also recorded that Eccles said, âthe prime minister wanted it to end.â Ironically, Eccles breached the ASADA Act by attending the meeting and scores of other meetings.
David Evans and Ian Robson, in their capacity as Essendon board members, endorsed all McLachlanâs demands. The decision was subsequently endorsed by the Essendon board. The bottom line was Evans and his Essendon board agreed to sacrifice Hird to protect the AFL Commission, the Essendon board and the players.
Sorry, I also forgot that Mr Little told James that he was on his own if he didnât capitulate to the AFLâs demands to stop his Supreme Court action. In fairness to Mr Little, I understand that he has been extremely generous with his support and financial support and constantly redeemed himself. But in my view that does not clean the slate.
Item (Ralph) 7:*** âBut if Hird does need to sharpen up his game-day knowledge he would have time.â*
My Comment:
I am not qualified to comment. I thought a good, modern-day coach was a greyhound bus with internet access and a toilet and shower at the back. Heck, to repeat my comment to Andrew Welsh, as a rugby fanatic, I still refer to the umpire as the referee; the boundary line as the sideline and the boundary umpires as the touch judges. I am so dumb, I donât even know why the clubs and media whine when the men and women with the flags behind the sticks at each end make a mistake when the commentors identify other refereeing mistakes that would have resulted in goals.
That said, I thought that television superstars such as Eddie Maguire, David King, Jordon Lewis, Jason Dunston, Jonathan Brown, Matthew Lloyd, Gerald Healy, James Hird and the hectoring fishwife et al are paid millions because they know more about the modern game than the coaches.
As I have been liberal with my use of the term âcorruptionâ, I thought I should define it and table where the first seed was planted. In the foregoing analyses, the term âcorruptionâ, is employed strictly according to its dictionary definition. Corruption: âThe process by which a word or expression is changed from its original state to one regarded as erroneous or debasedâ.
The seed for corruption and possible criminal charges were laid when a former Supreme Court judge (KC), who I hadnât met, contacted me after reading my work on his friendâs Facebook page. He was particularly concerned that the AFL had acted unlawfully during the saga to convict James Hird, Mark Thompson, Danny Corcoran, Jobe Watson and 33 of his teammates. He subsequently visited me at my home and then sent me the following analysis and opinion.
- The AFL conspired with ASADA, Essendon and the Federal government on 9 February 2013 to fix the result of their investigation before the first witness was interviewed.
(A POSSIBLE CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY)
- The Essendon board endorsed the agreement reached by the AFL, ASADA and the Gillard government.
(A POSSIBLE CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY)
- The action of AFL Chief Executive Andrew Demetriou continually implying in the media that Essendon and James Hird were guilty.
(A POSSIBLE BREACH OF THEIR RIGHT TO PROCEDURAL FAIRNESS)
- The AFL briefed the proposed jury (the AFL Commissioners) on the evidence before the investigation was completed.
(A POSSIBLE SUBORNING OF DECISION MAKERS AND INTERFERING WITH THE PROCESS OF JUSTICE)
- The AFL informed the âjuryâ before the investigation was completed that the Essendon Football Club, James Hird, Danny Corcoran and Mark Thompson were guilty.
(A POSSIBLE SUBORNING OF DECISION MAKERS, INTERFERING WITH THE PROCESS OF JUSTICE AND PERVERTING THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
- The AFL informed the âjuryâ before the investigation was completed what some of the penalties would be.
(A POSSIBLE PERVERTING THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
- The AFL bullied and blackmailed the Essendon Football Club, James Hird, Danny Corcoran and Mark Thompson to accept the penalties before charges were laid.
(A POSSIBLE CRIMINAL DURESS TO PERVERT THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
- The Essendon board agreed to the fraud to mitigate the threat of more severe penalties.
(A POSSIBLE CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY)
- The AFL condoned ASADA changing evidence - inter alia, ASADA tampered with the evidence by changing Thymosin to Thymosin Beta-4 on 51 occasions; omitted evidence; and fabricated evidence to help the AFL create a case against Essendon, Hird, Corcoran and Thompson.
(A POSSIBLE PERVERTING THE COURSE OF JUSTICE AND PERJURY)
- The AFL denied Hird procedural fairness by wanting him stood aside as coach before he was even interviewed.
(A POSSIBLE INTERFERING IN THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
- At the AFLâs behest, on 25 June 2013, David Evans asked James Hird if he would agree to be suspended and Essendon be banned from playing in the finals-series.
(A POSSIBLE INTERFERING IN THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
- On separate occasions, deputy AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan (26 June 2013) and Andrew Demetriou (24 July 2013) asked ASADA chief executive Ms Aurora Andruska to omit information from the interim report. Those omissions may have contributed to the AFL being able to defraud Essendon of $2 million.
(A POSSIBLE INTERFERING IN THE COURSE OF JUSTICE AND CONSPIRACY TO PERVERT THE COURSE OF JUSTICE)
- The AFL asked ASADA to include things in the interim report to prove guilt. This contributed to the AFL defrauding Essendon of $2 million.
(A POSSIBLE CONSPIRACY AND PERJURY)
- The AFL condoned ASADAâs investigator John Nolan attempting to âdoctorâ (inflate) the Essendon injection figures on 15 July 2013, to build the case against Essendon.
(A POSSIBLE ATTEMPTED FORGERY AND CONSPIRACY)
Res ipsa loquitur, the former judgeâs comments imply that Tony Howard and Dorothy Hisgrove have an irrefutable conflict of interest and therefore should recuse themselves from participating in the appointment of the coach!
Jon, your jealous peers think you look pretty good on television in that 1950s matinee way, but in that 1950s matinee way, behind the looks there wasnât a lot of substance. So, I suggest you just sit in front of the television script, read from the teleprompter stuff that someone who can write probably does for you, and leave attempts at deep analyses of major issues to people who can do it. Copy person, go and get Warner back from the pub asap.
As always, best wishes
Bruce Francis
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Fkn BANG.
lelâŚ
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Ummmm, exclude Chip.
Was happy to concede he had done zero research on other clubs, because he didnât see that as relevant to how much relative punishment was due for Essendon. Ditto the approaches to individuals such as Hamilton (âeverything comes to my deskâ, and the AFL rapidly put him on their payroll) and GoodStuff.
You gotta call out when the optics are more important than the facts.
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This has to be the most sophisticated way to tell somebody to go Fark (Carlton) themselves I have ever read.
Bruce Francis is a hero.
I would be very interested in @Warwickâs thoughts of Bruceâs summary in that letter.
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