Dank backs clubs, Hird to come through doping ordeal
Date
August 2, 2013
Adrian Proszenko, Brad Walter
Stephen Dank remains adamant Cronulla and Essendon have nothing to fear from the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation and has backed James Hird to continue as coach at the embattled Bombers.
On another dramatic day in Australia's sports doping saga, reinstated Sharks trainer Mark Noakes became the first person to be grilled by ASADA since interviews were cancelled in April, while the fallout continued from Wednesday night's explosive Dean Robinson interview.
The sacked Essendon high-performance manager laid bare his relationship with Hird and Dank, saying repeatedly during the 45-minute interview with Channel Seven's Luke Darcy that he had ''trusted'' the sports scientist - and suggested the Sharks players had, too.
''I know the players trusted Steve and I have been told that CJC-1295 wasn't a banned substance, so the players at Cronulla and any other club that Steve worked at trusted him, as I did,'' Robinson said.
It was reported that Dank had told Robinson ''many of his secrets, including [about] the supplements regime at Cronulla'' in 2011.
Robinson said one of the substances included CJC-1295, a synthetic peptide which stimulates the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland and can speed recovery if injected to an injured area.
While Dank wouldn't be drawn on Robinson's television interview, he said players from both codes had nothing to fear as ASADA pushes towards a conclusion of its investigations.
''I don't want to comment on the interview with Dean Robinson, I'm happy for the dust to settle between him and Essendon over this,'' Dank said. ''There are obviously a number of issues there and I'll leave it to them to work it out. But I reaffirm my views that Essendon and Cronulla won't have any issues at all with ASADA or WADA. And I believe Hird should remain coach.''
Robinson had worked with Dank at Manly and said he had introduced him to Hird after joining Essendon last year. ''James Hird asked for someone to work in the supplementation and the only name I raised was Steve Dank,'' Robinson said.
However, his relationship with both Dank and Hird is now clearly strained.
''I would have called us mates,'' he said of Dank. ''I trusted the guy, I openly and honestly trusted him. I trusted him with my pregnant wife and her supplementation, and her health. In my pregnant wife was my two unborn children at the time, my two sons, so I trusted the guy. I put my family at risk with the guy, so I think you can see how much I trusted him.''
