Outgoing AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick has launched a staunch defence of the league's handling of the Essendon supplements saga, saying history will back the action taken against the Bombers.
More than three years after it was first flagged, the league has publicly released an internal review of how it handled the supplements debacle.
The review endorses the joint investigation undertaken by the AFL and national anti-doping body ASADA while outlining stricter guidelines for top officials in the event of another investigation.
Fitzpatrick on Tuesday acknowledged the Essendon crisis had been a "testing and costly" issue for the game.
But he said the AFL's processes had been validated by the fact the controversial investigation survived two Federal Court challenges.
"The AFL acted within its rules, and with respect to our commitments to the WADA and ASADA framework," Fitzpatrick said.
"The fact that the AFL rules and associated processes have withstood those challenges reinforces the importance of key values that underpin our governance.
"I am confident that when the history of doping in sport in Australia is written, our competition can say that the Essendon Football Club stood up and reported voluntarily, and the AFL acted swiftly to protect the integrity of the game and the health and welfare of the players."
Essendon and James Hird lost a Federal Court challenge over the legality of the AFL-ASADA investigation in 2014.
Hird then broke ranks with the club and lost a Federal Court appeal against the original verdict.
The review will do little to appease fierce critics of how the AFL handled the Essendon crisis, the biggest scandal in Australian sporting history.
The joint investigation was one of the most controversial elements of the four-year saga.
Essendon announced they were coming under AFL-ASADA investigation in February 2013.
That August, the league hit Essendon with the harshest penalties in the game's history.
Essendon were kicked out of the finals, fined $2 million and docked draft picks, while Hird was banned for 12 months.
As flagged by current chief executive Gillon McLachlan, the internal review also recommends stricter guidelines for top AFL officials in the event of another investigation.
The chief executive would stand down from the commission and would help run the investigation.
It would then be the commission's role to rule on any sanctions.
Fitzpatrick, who will be replaced by fellow commissioner Richard Goyder next month, came under fire from Essendon's Brendon Goddard when he said he was "totally comfortable" with the league's handling of the crisis.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Mike," the former Bombers captain replied on Twitter
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