Wing and a prayer for Bombers as overseas test becomes key in doping probe Former Essendon sports scientist Stephen Dank in 2005 with NRL club Manly. SAMPLES from a "tank" of frozen blood could be flown to a Cologne laboratory as part of the doping authority investigation into Essendon's use of supplements last season. As former Essendon sports scientist Stephen Dank proclaimed his innocence last night, it emerged a world-first test for peptides could be used to analyse blood from Bombers players. About 1000 frozen drug samples have been taken from athletes across Australia who are under suspicion for doping, have been previously target-tested or have achieved success, including Grand Final wins. It is expected the blood of some Essendon players taken last year would be in the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority's repository, dubbed the "Tank" by insiders. If that blood tested positive for performance-enhancing peptides, it would be sufficient proof that Essendon players had been injected with illegal substances, whether knowingly or otherwise. Essendon officials last night briefed the parents of players, as the club braced for the full-scale Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and AFL probe. It is expected the majority of players or even the entire list would soon be interviewed, as will the coaches. The advanced testing would prove crucial in the ASADA probe, as peptides can not be detected in regulation tests and Dank is adamant he did nothing wrong. Watson: Players' parents in good spirits Re-testing blood could provide concrete proof, as would Australian Crime Commission evidence uncovered in its year-long investigation. The Crime Commission has confirmed using wire taps, coercive interviews and surveillance to amass evidence for its report. Former ASADA chief executive Richard Ings told the Herald Sun yesterday it was common for new testing procedures to be used in ASADA investigations. "If new intelligence comes up then you can thaw out the samples and target-test it," Ings said. In the case of peptide hormones there was no test for it, but now there is a German lab and ASADA can take Player X's sample and send it to Germany and have it tested for peptide hormones. It gives you a second bite of the cherry. If there is only one lab in the world which has a certain test, it is common to put it on a plane and get it tested. Ings did not want to comment on the Essendon probe, but noted examples of players being given a 75 per cent discount on two-year bans if they could prove they had not knowingly ingested banned substances. "They have to show they have no knowledge of what is going on, (and be) able to demonstrate exactly who gave it to them, and prove that the person gave it to him," Ings said. It is rare, but there are case studies and examples of it happening.