Sea Eagles sub-committee investigated NRL club's use of cutting-edge supplements FORMER Olympic sprinter and Manly director Melinda Gainsford-Taylor spearheaded an internal investigation into the club's use of cutting-edge supplements after learning players were injected with calves blood extract in 2008. The revelation came as officers attached to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and Australian Crime Commission doping inquiry this week made moves to formally interview an ex-Sea Eagles player. And as Manly launched their 2013 campaign with a trial against Cronulla at Brookdhvale last night,The Daily Telegraph learned a Sydney-based supplier of EPO has been in contact with leading NRL players over the past 12 months. Gainsford-Taylor joined Manly's board shortly after the 2008 grand final win. Sea Eagles directors were in the dark over coach Des Hasler's high performance unit and wanted to reconcile rising sports science costs. In early 2009, Gainsford-Taylor was appointed to a sub-committee, along with former winger Jack Elsegood and chairman Scott Penn, to gather more information about Hasler's hi-tech regime. The physiologist at the centre of this week's doping scandal, Stephen Dank, was working for Manly at the time and introduced Hasler to dhActovegin - the calves blood derivative that aids tissue repair - the previous season. Gainsford-Taylor declined to comment about the sub-committee yesterday. "I'd prefer not to make any comment because it relates to board-level material and I'd rather keep that confidential," she said. Elsegood last night said the board's desire to cut costs motivated the investigation. It's understood about $200,000 was slashed from Hasler's sports science budget in 2010 - Dank's final season at the club. Dank also fell foul of some coaching staff after offering to give a player dhActovegin intravenously. "I was involved in that sub-committee and we were looking at ways to reduce expenses," Elsegood said. I don't know whether Mel had any concerns about the supplements, but our broad brief was to look across the whole department and find out how we could save money. Manly were the second club to have their sports science records audited as part of the NRL's current review, with Deloitte operatives descending upon the club's Narrabeen headquarters Thursday morning. The Daily Telegrapha spoke with a former top-grader who said EPO - the red cell booster that was popular with drug-cheating cyclists - was in close proximity to top players. He claimed one dealer had a relationship with several past and present stars.