Essendon copped the biggest whack in Australian sport.
They’re dealt the biggest ever fine – $2 million.
They’re banned from the biggest stage – the AFL finals.
They’re given big draft penalties.
Coach James Hird is suspended for 12 months – the biggest ban of an AFL coach.
All are undoubtedly big punishments in the code’s biggest scandal.
Yet the biggest question remains: Did Essendon players take banned drugs?
Until that question can be answered, the saga continues.
AFL chief Andrew Demetriou said on Tuesday night the anti-obesity drug AOD-9604 is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
That’s the drug Essendon captain Jobe Watson has publicly admitted taking last year – when he won the the AFL’s biggest individual accolade, the Brownlow medal.
So what’s next? Who will answer the big question?
It’s not going to willingly come from the mouth of Stephen Dank, the sports scientist behind Essendon’s ill-conceived supplements program.
Dank “has a lot to answer for”, Demetriou said when announcing Essendon’s unprecedented punishments.
But who is going to ask him the question?
The AFL has no powers to summon Dank, who has refused requests to be interviewed by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.
Why hasn’t ASADA used its newly-created powers and compelled Dank to talk?
While the AFL’s penalties appear to neatly wrap up much of the controversy, Demetriou’s wish for the code to now move on is fanciful.
“This is without doubt the most significant matter that has come before the commission, perhaps one of the most serious issues that has ever faced the game,” Demetriou said.
“This is the most significant sanction in AFL history.”
But the most significant question remains: exactly what did Essendon players take?
That proverbial ball is now out of AFL hands and held by ASADA.
Demetriou and AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick both called the Essendon scandal a wake-up call. But the alarm bells are still ringing.