THE ESSENDON supplements scandal has hit the courts, with coach James Hird's legal team lodging paperwork with the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday.

The 9-page writ was filed at 10.45am at the Lonsdale St registry
office.

Hird is seeking an injunction to prevent AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou or any AFL Commissioner who has been given access to the ASADA interim report from hearing the charges against him.

Hird is also seeking "proper particulars" of the charges against him,
details of the witnesses the AFL proposes to call and all documents the
AFL proposes to use as evidence.

Hird’s spokesman Ian Hanke told AFL.com.au on Wednesday night: "We will be going to the Supreme Court tomorrow lodging a statement of claim outlining our concerns about the manner in which the AFL has conducted itself over the course of the past several months," 

Once the paperwork is lodged, it becomes part of the public record and can be made public at the discretion of the court.

The AFL declined to comment on the court action.

In a statement to media on Wednesday, Hird declared he’d been denied natural justice.

"It is critical to note that the ASADA report is interim; that no player infractions have been issued and the AFL and ASADA may be in breach of the law with the use of the interim report as a basis for the charges that have been laid," Hird said.

"In this frenzy of releases and press conferences today, the AFL remains silent about its knowledge since February 2013 of AOD-9604 not being a banned substance, the major issue in this saga."

Earlier on Wednesday, the League released a 34-page document outlining the grounds for charges against Essendon.

It included a letter from Dr Bruce Reid raising his concerns about the Bombers supplements regime.

"The letter, released in isolation, is designed to damage my reputation," Hird said.

"This continues the abuse of process by the AFL by using the media to prosecute a case it seems unwilling to actually prosecute in a tribunal."

More to come...