Essendon employed Stephen Dank last season without reference-checking the discredited sports scientist with any of his previous three football employers, including Gold Coast.


Nor did the Bombers go to Suns chief executive Travis Auld - who worked at Essendon for close to a decade - before signing new high-performance boss Dean Robinson to a three-year contract worth close to $1 million.


As Essendon's internal administrative practices remain under fire, the club-led investigation instigated by chairman David Evans is expected to establish that Robinson, now considering a fresh legal threat against the club, came to Essendon at the instigation of senior assistant coach Mark Thompson.


The process circumnavigated general human resources practices at Windy Hill after Thompson and his team fell out with Robinson's predecessor, Stuart Cormack. Auld is believed to have confirmed that no one from Essendon checked the credentials of either Dank or Robinson despite Auld's close ties with the club.


Dank was sacked by Essendon late last year and mystery surrounds his employment over the summer months. Melbourne has repeatedly denied he briefly consulted to the Demons, although several players have reported seeing him at the club's AAMI Park training headquarters.


Auld employed Dank as a part-time consultant during the 2011 pre-season but did not retain him because the Suns were uncomfortable with the sports scientist's thoughts regarding fast-tracking the physical development of their young players and his financially costly methods. There is no suggestion Gold Coast believed Dank's methods were irregular.


Robinson, whose family housed Suns captain Gary Ablett during his one year at the new AFL club, also differed philosophically with that club's football department and was head-hunted by newly appointed senior assistant Thompson to join the Bombers. No executive at Essendon contacted Auld before handing him control of the club's fitness program.


Robinson, who also worked at Geelong with Thompson, is understood to have attempted to introduce Dank to the Cats. He organised a meeting with Dank in Sydney that was attended by the Cats' senior football official Steve Hocking while Dank was working at NRL club Manly. Hocking is believed to have chosen, after that meeting, not to continue the association.


Dank's short-lived tenure with the Gold Coast came after he was let go by the Sea Eagles after six years following several disputes, including a clash over a player injection. During 2011 Dank also worked at Cronulla for several months, after which Sharks players were warned not to associate with him.


Fourteen Sharks players are facing serious doping charges. The Cronulla president has resigned, coach Shane Flanagan has been stood down and four other key staff members sacked because club directors believe they knew about alleged doping procedures at the club and kept it hidden.


It was after Dank's falling out with Cronulla that Robinson, nicknamed ''The Weapon'', introduced Dank to Essendon and it was Dank who led the program under which many senior players took part in a 16-week program of twice-a-week stomach injections. The Essendon board and chief executive Ian Robson, who oversaw his wages, were completely unaware of Dank's recent practices. Intravenous drips were also part of the Robinson-Dank procedure - part of a strength and conditioning program described by Thompson earlier this month as ''high risk''.


Former Telstra chief Ziggy Switkowski is leading Essendon's internal investigation, which is expected to be completed within three weeks.


Robinson remains on the Bombers' payroll although the club remains hopeful of negotiating his departure without having to pay out the remainder of his contract - an estimated $500,000. Robinson has sought legal advice and could yet sue the club to pay him out - a threat dependent on the ASADA investigation into Essendon.


AFL chief Andrew Demetriou was cautiously optimistic on Friday on the fate of Essendon players, telling 3AW that the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority would have acted by now if it had clear evidence of illegal doping.