With those words AFL Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick signaled the AFL's rapid response to the Australian Crime Commission's report on Organised Crime and Drugs in Sport that was released in Canberra on Thursday.
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The report identified the widespread use of prohibited substances in professional sport and the infiltration of organised crime into Australian sport.
It prompted the AFL to call a Commission meeting and agree to an urgent strengthening of AFL powers to protect the game's integrity. Fitzpatrick said the response was about "the welfare of players on all levels, it's about fairness and sportsmanship, the essence of our game."
Click here to read Mike Fitzpatrick's full statement
"As the AFL Commission Chairman and head of our sport I share this disappointment, this anger and this distress," Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick admitted the AFL did not know the extent of activity that threatened the game's integrity but it was acting quickly to find out.
"Our view is that we will clean the sport up as quickly as we can," Fitzpatrick said. "We're not sure whether it's a couple of individuals or whether it is more widespread at this stage, but we are going to find out."
AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou said the report was a reminder that the AFL was not immune to being infiltrated by organised crime in relation to performance enhancing drugs, illicit drugs and match fixing.
It showed that the competition needed to do more. He said nothing would be spared in the quest to protect the sport and anyone engaged in corrupt activity would be caught.
He said all loopholes would be closed to rid the sport of the taint of organised crime and cheating and called on AFL fans to have faith that the AFL will tackle the issue head on.
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"It would be fair to say after today there will be people at all of our clubs working at all different levels, which would include players, that would have had a wake-up call. They will be sitting there thinking today with this scrutiny, what should I do?" Demetriou said.
"It is a very good question and I would say this: if you are out there and you think you can run the gauntlet of cheating in this system whether it be salary cap, the use of performance enhancing drugs, gambling…make no mistake, you will be caught."
Demetriou defended the AFL's testing regime and said League's immediate response reflected a new reality: "You can't just rely on testing anymore.
"You have to rely on intelligence gathering…a more sophisticated means than just testing."
Demetriou left no one in any doubt of his disgust with those who sought to engage in practices that threatened the integrity of football and undermined the public's confidence in the game.
"People want to see the last person standing, they want to see sport at its purest.
"When they start to doubt whether athletes are performing purely it can be a long way back.
"I don't believe ever that you compromise your values to win. Our sport doesn't believe it.
"Our sport, this great code has always prided itself on player welfare, the fairness of the competition and these people who seek to push the boundaries and experiment, look out."
