Geelong Board in Crisis Meeting Over Secret Concussion Deal as AFL Deadline Looms
The Geelong Cats board held a crisis meeting on Monday morning to finalise the club's response to the AFL over a secret concussion deal with defender Jake Kolodjashnij, with a submission due to the league by end of Tuesday (ABC News).
Club president Grant McCabe confirmed the board met to discuss the response to the AFL's "please explain" — a formal request from the league for the club to justify its actions — which would be lodged by close of business Tuesday, August 11.
The saga erupted the previous Thursday when it was revealed that in 2024, Geelong struck a secret agreement with Kolodjashnij, a premiership defender with a history of concussion. The deal involved a waiver, signed two years ago, that effectively shifted legal responsibility for any future brain trauma onto the player, indemnifying the club and its medical staff from potential court action (ABC News).
The AFL's own investigation, an extended audit spanning six seasons, found a series of administrative breaches including non-disclosures and late disclosures related to the deal. The league fined Geelong $77,500, of which $40,000 was suspended (ABC Melbourne).
Kolodjashnij came forward on August 7 to identify himself as the player at the centre of the controversy. He said he had participated fully in the AFL's independent concussion panel process — the league's formal medical assessment for players with repeated head injuries — and was comfortable with its independence (The Guardian).
The conflict of interest runs to the top of the game. AFL chairman Craig Drummond was Geelong's club president when the waiver was struck, and Steve Hocking was the Cats' chief executive at the time. Drummond has issued a public apology, conceding the waiver went "too far," and has recused himself from the AFL's assessment of the matter (AFL.com.au).
Hocking, now Geelong's CEO, defended the club in a weekend radio interview and said there was "not a lot" the club would do differently. Cats captain Patrick Dangerfield was blunter on Monday, conceding the club had "buggered up" while strongly defending Hocking (ABC News).
Coach Chris Scott said he kept himself "at arm's length" from the waiver and did not have enough information to comment (AFL.com.au).
Geelong great and Hall of Fame member Jimmy Bartel has gone further than anyone inside the club, alleging the Cats' actions were either "incompetent or deceitful" and demanding answers (The Age).
The fallout has spread beyond the football department. A Geelong Advertiser reporter was barred from a Cats function in the wake of the controversy (Herald Sun).
For the AFL, the case cuts to the heart of how the game handles brain injury. Concussion protocols — the stepped medical process a player must clear before returning to the field after a head knock — exist to protect players from cumulative harm. A secret waiver that shifts legal liability onto the player sits uncomfortably with that purpose, and the league's own chairman has admitted as much.
Geelong's formal response to the AFL is due by end of Tuesday. What the league does next will shape how every club approaches concussion from here.
