You won't see this on the back page of either paper today but the AFL's website last night published an article which buried the lead deep, deep down.
The supplements survey also found that 12 clubs conducted programs with medium or high levels of supplement use and lacked "a single point of accountability".
Furthermore this information seems to have been made public during Grand Final week when it was also ignored.
Compare this to some of the charges laid against Essendon by the AFL Commission (via Michael_Long_Legend):
failed to ensure that those implementing the Program were adequately supervised;
failed to devise or implement adequate systems or processes to ensure that some substances provided to and used by players were safe and were compliant with the AFL Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Code;
failed to identify and record the source from which some substances used by players were obtained;
failed to adequately monitor and record the use of some substances;
I get that the AFL and all of the 18 clubs want this whole thing to go away, but when you make a year-long rod for your back comprised of morals and integrity this stinks. 12 clubs potentially as guilty as each other and just the one gets singled out.
One would imagine that between early February when Essendon 'self reported' and August 22 at the meeting of club presidents, that each one of those presidents looked internally at their own clubs supplement use.
So put on your tin foil hat with me and imagine a scenario where 11 of 18 club presidents sit in a room knowing that their club wasn't squeaky clean and if the magnifying glass was put on them for an instant they too could be looking down the 'integrity barrel'.
So why wouldn't you express your 'full faith in the AFL commission' when they had strongly telegraphed through the media their interest in pursuing one club, making an example of them and then moving on.
Essendon screwed up. That's history. But that the history books will record they were the only club punished for running an unaccountable supplement scheme when three quarters of the AFL were doing the same is ordinary.
By this point I've run out of ways to maintain the rage of express disappointment in the AFL's hypocrisy. At this point Essendon fans are isolated in this. No club wants the story to come back again, not even Essendon.
Demetriou back in September:
Rest assured, our integrity unit has all the resources possible to ensure we apply the best techniques to protect the purity of our game.'
It's just that they're not always applied I guess.
No idea how to end this piece so I'll finish with some trivia. What AFL club hired Dean Robinson, Steven Dank and had a player test positive to Performance Enhancing Drugs?