SOME Essendon players were prescribed weekly injections of the banned anti-obesity drug AOD-9604 for all of last season.

They were regularly injected with thymosin, another substance banned by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.

News Limited has seen documents handed to ASADA that reveal Essendon's drugs program.

The dossier shows some players were prescribed weekly injections of the banned anti-obesity drug AOD-9604 for the duration of the 2012 season/

There are variants of Thymosin - some permitted for use - and Essendon is hopeful, but uncertain, of the version its players were administered by sacked sports scientist Stephen Dank.



Dons furious at Dank drug letter



Thymosin Beta 4, which is commonly used for horses, is the banned drug allegedly administered to Cronulla Sharks NRL players in 2011.



Thymosin was mentioned in leaked text messages between Dank and Bombers coach James Hird.



Documents handed to ASADA reveal some Bombers players were given one Thymosin injection a week for six weeks and then one injection a month for the remainder of the AFL season.



Other supplements prescribed to Essendon players and detailed in consent forms signed by players and club officials include colostrum and Tribulus Forte. Colostrum and Tribulus, which are not injected, help with building strength and recovery but are not banned under the anti-doping code.



"The players were effectively being used as human guinea pigs," one figure close to the investigation said last night.

Responding this morning in Adelaide, AFL boss Andrew Demetriou called for patience.

"We need to await the outcome of the ASADA report," he said.

"I know that's frustrating to people, but they haven't even begun interviewing players yet.

"They will start that process as I understand within the next week or so.

"At the moment, they are currently finishing interviews with coaches and other officials.

"None of that has been made public, so I do think people should be very careful about some of the commentary.

"Particularly in light of the fact that we haven't even had one player interviewed yet."

Read the rest of Demetriou's comments here

A central concern of the ASADA-AFL investigation is the lack of independent analysis of the supplements administered to the Essendon players.



Lawyer sets out a defence for Dons



It means ASADA cannot verify what the players were given.



Essendon has not been able to provide an independent assessment of the long-term health effects of some of the substances, some of which are not approved for human consumption.



It emerged yesterday the Bombers have engaged a public relations expert, Elizabeth Lukin of Essential Media Communications, to help manage the crisis at Windy Hill.



James Hird's own legal team is also being advised by leading spin doctor Ian Hanke.



"I run Media and Political Counsel and I have been advising Mr Hird's legal advisers, Ashurst, on media and communications strategy over the past weeks," Hanke said yesterday.



Lukin has been linked to Essendon since the drugs scandal erupted in February, helping shape the messages coming out of the stricken club.