New footy drug fear after NRL death

Stephen Dank denies any wrongdoing and insists the substances he provided were above board. Source: The Daily Telegraph

A PERFORMANCE-enhancing drug given to a rugby league player before his death from cancer may have been given to at least one AFL player.

Sports bodies are investigating whether the peptide CJC-1295 was given to the player, whom the Herald Sun has chosen not to name.

He is the mystery athlete originally identified alongside Essendon players as possibly having used banned drugs.

The peptide CJC-1295 is prohibited for use by athletes. It has not been approved for human use by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

The player is from a club that has had an association with sports scientist Stephen Dank.

NRL player Jon Mannah died in January this year.

Mr Dank is central to investigations by the AFL and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority into whether players and coaches have been administered with substances that are dangerous or prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Mr Dank denies any wrongdoing and insists the substances he provided were above board.

CJC-1295 is promoted on bodybuilding websites as a substance that helps reduce fat and repair injured tissue.

The AFL player believed to have been given the substance has suffered a recent on-field injury.

Parramatta’s Tim Mannah makes a statement about reports his brother, Jon's, fatal cancer was accelerated by peptides.

The player's representatives did not return calls and his club declined to comment.

CJC-1295 is prohibited for use by athletes, according to WADA. It is featuring heavily in investigations into sports doping in the NRL.

Cronulla has received advice that the peptide may have accelerated the Hodgkin's lymphoma death of Cronulla Sharks prop Jon Mannah.

CJC-1295 was one of the two main peptides identified by the Australian Crime Commission's Project Aperio as being widely used.

The project was an 18-month investigation into links between organised crime, performance-enhancing drugs and sport.

The hormone GHRP-6 was the other substance said to be in wide use.

A synthetic peptide that stimulates the body's natural growth hormone production, CJC-1295 was developed to treat burns and growth disorders, and can be injected or applied as a cream.

The TGA has confirmed to the Herald Sun that it is not approved for human use.

Only six permits exist for the peptide's importation, according to the Australian Crime Commission. 

carly.crawford@news.com.au

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