These are the questions AFL boss must answer on Geelong’s concussion deal

August 7, 2026 — 12:54pm

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The AFL commission chairman Craig Drummond was president of Geelong, and part of the deliberations and ultimate decision, when the Cats struck what has been acknowledged was an inappropriate waiver with a player who had a history of concussions.

On Thursday, as the story detonated that the Cats had signed the player to a waiver that diminished his legal rights – at least on paper – Drummond was asked to respond to questions from this masthead, and doubtless other media, about his role in the shonky waiver.

The AFL chairman, who holds the highest office in the game, issued a brief statement that did not address the obvious questions that he should have taken on, given his twin hats as AFL chairman and the president of the club at the time that this hubristic document was signed, without the AFL’s consent or knowledge.

Drummond’s AFL chose not to sanction Geelong, a matter of months after Carlton was fined $75,000 for their handling of the Elijah Hollands affair, which was about a different kind of player safety – mental health.

The AFL took weeks to sort........

© The Age