{"id":850250,"date":"2026-08-10T12:38:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T12:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/850250\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T12:38:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T12:38:23","slug":"reads-like-an-amnesty-afls-fresh-memo-to-clubs-revealing-fears-of-more-cats-like-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/850250\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Reads like an amnesty\u2019: AFL\u2019s fresh memo to clubs revealing fears of more Cats-like cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

The AFL has sent a \u201cfinal warning\u201d memo to all club chief executives in hopes of avoiding more cases like Geelong\u2019s Jake Kolodjashnij concussion waiver drama. <\/p>\n

The memo via league chief executive Andrew Dillon was labelled \u201cclub obligations\u201d and \u201cpromises mature and informed discussions\u201d around the issue of concussion.<\/p>\n

Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It comes as the Cats prepare to respond to the AFL\u2019s \u2018please explain\u2019 over the secret Kolodjashnij deal that was first reported by the Herald Sun.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have any concerns in relation to any present agreement or arrangement that may be inconsistent with the AFL and AFLPA\u2019s requirements (as made clear by this communication) you are requested to bring this to the attention of the AFL and AFLPA as soon as possible,\u201d the statement reads. <\/p>\n

Speaking on Fox Footy\u2019s AFL 360 on Monday night, Melbourne legend Garry Lyon thinks it \u201creads it as an amnesty.\u201d <\/p>\n

However AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley believes it\u2019s a genuine attempt to weed out other potential side deals clubs have made without the AFL\u2019s knowledge. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not an amnesty, this is a first and final warning,\u201d Whateley said on the program. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a free swing. If you\u2019ve done this, you will not escape punishment. If you are caught out after Wednesday, hell hath no fury.\u201d<\/p>\n

It prompted Lyon to question if clubs come forward and \u201cfall on their own sword,\u201d whether it would also become public knowledge.<\/p>\n

Whateley responded: \u201cThat is an interesting question. I would say yes, because there would be consequences and sanctions in the aftermath. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf we get beyond Wednesday and you have one of these in the drawer, you are in serious strife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cats prepare concussion waiver response | 04:19<\/p>\n

Lyon added: \u201cBecause that\u2019s the other thing that went around the footy circles: \u2018There\u2019s plenty of these. Don\u2019t worry, this is not an isolated incident\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, this is the AFL saying: \u2018Alright, if there is, we need to know about it\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

It comes after document details of the 2024 deal Geelong struck with Kolodjashnij emerged<\/a>. It included a \u201cdirect replica\u201d of the approved clause used for another player\u2019s attempted return to state league in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the thing that got me, the side deal,\u201d Lyon added.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The document) made perfect sense to me, it seemed to be reasonable and a club taking care of a player in a really vulnerable position. <\/p>\n

\u201cRight up to the point where they say: \u2018But we\u2019re abrogating our responsibility. You sign the waiver, you take the personal and legal risk and leave us out of it\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when it stunk to high hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘We buggered up as a club’ | 03:31<\/p>\n

Geelong president Grant McCabe confirmed the club\u2019s board met on Monday to discuss the matter as it prepares to submit a response to the AFL\u2019s please explain by close of business Tuesday. <\/p>\n

The league will then consider those findings before considering potential sanctions and including a fine that could be as heavy as six figures. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s also pressure on ex-Geelong president and AFL chair Craig Drummond and Cats chief executive Steve Hocking. <\/p>\n

However, Whateley argued that the league needs to commission an independent party to properly investigate the case with no conflict of interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe AFL executive is being asked to essentially make decisions that affect the standing reputation and position of the AFL chairman. I don\u2019t think any organisation can work through that,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would believe an independent person needs to be brought in with a special commission of inquiry to ask all the difficult questions. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe spoke to Andrew Dillon on Saturday<\/a>, he knows this stuff, the law is his absolute brad and butter. But he hadn\u2019t spoken to Jake Kolidashnij. There has to be a layer of investigation that starts with the Kolidashnij family. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat asks the difficult questions of the Geelong board and studies the emails between the AFL and Geelong as to what advice or guidance was given along the way. How did they come to the formulation of it? And then why did it exist only in the drawer and not to be lodged?<\/p>\n

\u201cThose questions, I think it\u2019s difficult for the AFL executive to be able to do that. They\u2019re not down that path at the moment, all they\u2019re exploring is the failure to lodge and that\u2019s not going to cut it.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The AFL has sent a \u201cfinal warning\u201d memo to all club chief executives in hopes of avoiding more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":850251,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-850250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=850250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}