NRL next for supplement probe THE investigation into the use of supplements by Essendon players will be expanded beyond AFL, with Fairfax Media told that NRL clubs are also likely to face scrutiny. The Bombers called in the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency to look into supplements given to their players but it is understood the investigation will be wider. While Essendon officials have not fully explained what sparked their concern, the club has sacked sports science guru Steve Dank, who worked with Manly from 2005 until 2010. He was also briefly involved with Cronulla in 2011 but left after a clash with club doctor Dave Givney over players using the blood-thinning drug, Warfarin. Dank came to prominence in 2008 after Fairfax Media revealed that Manly players were being injected with calves' blood. Meanwhile, a direct link between the "short-cut" culture of supplement use and subsequent engagement in doping is a major concern of national coaches, highlighted in the federal government-charged inquiry into Australian cycling. Supplements are considered such a danger in the sport grappling with an international doping crisis that Cycling Australia is introducing a formal register that will make it mandatory for elite athletes to record everything they take. Use of supplements was described in the investigation into doping in Australian cycling by former Supreme Court judge James Wood as "widespread, but not necessarily productive." The quality of supplements was described as "notoriously difficult" to regulate. The Wood report, released last month, showed Australia's top cyclists are increasingly eager to use supplements to gain an edge. Their coaches, in contrast, are highly concerned about the potential risks - chiefly that the supplements might contain banned substances - and are also sceptical about the benefits of taking supplements. Alarmingly, the Wood report also underlined the widespread fear of national coaches about a practice that "can promote a culture or mindset that will lead an individual to adopt other short cuts including engaging in prohibited forms of doping." Athletes were "seemingly pressured by relentless promotions and advertising that suggest they are 'being left behind' if they are not using supplements," according to the investigation - a message that conflicts with the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority's warnings about the risks of supplement use. All 16 recommendations in Wood's 95-page report have been approved by federal Sports Minister Kate Lundy, who is set to make a major announcement in Canberra on Thursday. Senator Lundy called for the review into cycling last October after the US Anti-Doping Agency stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and banned him for life. ASADA's probe into Essendon's use of supplements last year comes weeks after Gerry Ryan, the owner of Australia's professional cycling team Orica-GreenEDGE, claimed the AFL had "huge drug problems." Ryan, a well-connected former St Kilda board member, Melbourne Storm director and owner of 2010 Melbourne Cup winner Americain, expressed frustration at a Cycling Australia event in December that domestic Australian football codes were not scrutinised nearly as heavily when it came to performance-enhancing drug use. What other sport tests as much as what cycling does, and has programs in place? Ryan asked. What happens in the AFL? Huge drug problems. But that never gets printed. Blood doping. In NRL that's accepted, or was accepted. In terms of EPO in AFL football teams, cocaine, but that doesn't get printed. Ryan subsequently told Fairfax Media his comments about drug use in the AFL and NRL were based on "fact." AFL media manager Patrick Keane said at the time that he would not comment on unsubstantiated claims and added that the AFL had been judged by ASADA to have "gold standard" drug testing protocols. ASADA, which dictates how many tests are conducted on AFL footballers under the league's World Anti-Doping Authority-compliant performance-enhancing drugs code, would not comment further to Fairfax Media on Wednesday. An ASADA spokesperson said ASADA's chief executive, Aurora Andruska, was unable to elaborate on the AFL probe.