{"id":850767,"date":"2026-08-10T23:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T23:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/850767\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T23:16:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T23:16:12","slug":"afl-2026-latrelle-pickett-admits-to-drinking-alcohol-after-concussion-essendon-bombers-coach-search-timeline-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/850767\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL 2026: Latrelle Pickett admits to drinking alcohol after concussion, Essendon Bombers coach search timeline, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"

A young Melbourne player has admitted to drinking alcohol within 48 hours of sustaining a concussion. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, further clarity has come to light surrounding Essendon\u2019s senior coach decision. Read on in AFL Daily.<\/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

DEES \u2018ADDRESS\u2019 FORWARD AFTER ALCOHOL MISSTEP<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been revealed Melbourne livewire Latrelle Pickett admitted to drinking alcohol in the aftermath of his concussion almost three weeks ago. <\/p>\n

According to the Herald Sun\u2019s Jay Clark<\/a>, the Demons \u201caddressed\u201d Pickett after he consumed alcohol in the 48 hours following his head knock in Round 20 against Geelong. <\/p>\n

The report states Melbourne \u201creached out to support\u201d its young forward \u201cto help educate him on the need to look after himself\u201d, as well as \u201caffirm professional standards after sustaining a brain injury\u201d. <\/p>\n

Alcohol is a neurotoxin that interferes with brain tissue repair, thus why experts recommend complete avoidance after concussive incidents. <\/p>\n

Clark adds that the Dees have \u201cdealt with\u201d the issue, opting not to sanction Pickett, who is available to return at either level this weekend. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s a difficult Melbourne team to crack at the moment, particularly after Steven King\u2019s mob knocked off premiership favourites Fremantle last Saturday. <\/p>\n

Still, the former Glenelg star has burst onto the AFL scene this year after arriving at the Dees as the 12th pick in last year\u2019s draft, playing 16 games for 10 goals. <\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/p>\n

POWER RANKINGS: The weirdest part of AFL\u2019s top-10 expansion gamble… and team that\u2019ll pay dearly for it<\/a><\/p>\n

HIRE ME, AND GET THESE GUYS TOO: Hird\u2019s big Bombers pitch… including trade sweetener<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018READS LIKE AN AMNESTY\u2019: AFL\u2019s fresh memo revealing fears of more Cats-like cases<\/a><\/p>\n

Independent investigation of Cats saga | 01:07<\/p>\n

BOMBERS COACH CALL TIMELINE REVEALED<\/p>\n

Essendon\u2019s coaching finalists are going to have to wait another week to \u201cwork through this process\u201d and come to a decision. <\/p>\n

James Hird, Mark McVeigh, Jaymie Graham and Murray Davis make up the final four as the Bombers prepare to make an appointment. <\/p>\n

\u201cEssendon has told its four coaching applicants it\u2019s going to need another week to work through this process,\u201d the Herald Sun\u2019s Jon Ralph told Fox Footy\u2019s On the Couch. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt might end up whittling those four candidates from four down to two, and certainly one might end up meeting the board. <\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, this is in a week where Sydney assistant Mark McVeigh coaches against Essendon on Sunday night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seven\u2019s Mitch Cleary reported the Essendon panel, led by president Andrew Welsh, \u201cwill meet in the coming days to dissect the interviews from late last week\u201d. <\/p>\n

Cats prepare concussion waiver response | 01:16<\/p>\n

It comes as Ralph revealed Hird had \u201cpersonally contacted\u201d GWS captain Toby Greene<\/a> and Brisbane dual Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale to pitch the idea of going to Essendon if he\u2019s appointed coach. <\/p>\n

Three-time Richmond premiership forward Jack Riewoldt endorsed Essendon reinstalling Hird, arguing the 18th-placed club needs a \u201cgalvaniser\u201d more than anything. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think in terms of contacting other players, this just shows the aura that James Hird has,\u201d Riewoldt told On the Couch. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is what this club is starved of at the moment; they need a galvaniser, and it has to be one of their favourite sons. <\/p>\n

\u201c(McVeigh) hasn\u2019t got the star power that James Hird\u2019s got, and I think the Hird factor will sit right behind Mark McVeigh if he is to get the role. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s going to happen for anyone that doesn\u2019t get the role … a club on its knees needs a galvaniser, and I think James Hird is the man.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A young Melbourne player has admitted to drinking alcohol within 48 hours of sustaining a concussion. Meanwhile, further…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":850768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-850767","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\/850767","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=850767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}