What happened at Essendon, what happened at Cronulla, is only part of the story. From the basement office of a suburban football club to the seedy corners of Peptide Alley to the polished corridors of Parliament House, The Straight Dope is an inside account of the politics, greed and personal feuds which fuelled an extraordinary saga.

Clubs and coaches determined to win, a sports scientist who doesn't play by the rules, a generation of footballers held hostage by scandal and injected with who knows what, sport administrators hell bent on control, an anti-doping authority out of its depth, an unpopular government that just wants it to end. For two tumultuous seasons this was the biggest game in Australia.

The Straight Dope is here updated to include the most current and up-to-date material on this ongoing and seemingly never-ending saga.

Winner of the 2015 Walkley Book Award and the 2015 William Hill Sports Book of the Year. Updated with latest developments

About the Author
Chip Le Grand is a journalist who has written about sport, crime and politics for more than 20 years. His coverage of the Essendon drugs scandal won awards from the Melbourne Press Club and the Australian Sports Commission and was short-listed by the Walkley Foundation. This is his first book.


Book Information
ISBN 9780522870275
Author Chip Le Grand
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Melbourne University Press
Publisher Melbourne University Press
Weight(grams) 352g
Dimensions(mm) 202mm * 145mm * 26mm