On 7 February 2013, at a Canberra press conference that shocked the nation, the Australian Crime Commission announced the results of a wide-ranging probe into links between professional sporting bodies, prohibited substances and organised crime syndicates. A number of clubs across the NRL and AFL were under investigation, but the primary targets soon became clear: the Cronulla Sharks and the Essendon Bombers.
The vital link between the two was the involvement of sports scientist Stephen Dank, and his role at these and other clubs quickly became the subject of intense scrutiny. In interviews Dank maintained that no illegal supplements had been administered to players, but investigations revealed serious governance failures at both clubs. Neither Essendon nor Cronulla could confirm precisely what substances had been given to its players.
As the months rolled by, the scandal deepened. The two codes took opposite approaches to the investigations by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency (ASADA), with the AFL cooperating while the NRL stood back. The agency itself came under intense pressure from the players, the codes and the federal government, and all the while the man at the centre of the controversy – Stephen Dank – refused to give evidence to anyone.
Sports journalist Josh Massoud has followed the 'supplements saga' from day one, and in Whatever It Takes he tells the complete and definitive version of this sorry episode. With unrelenting focus and fierce honesty, Massoud chronicles the scandal that marked the end of Australia's sporting innocence.
