The Cats are not the cultural beacon they once claimed to be

August 8, 2026 — 5:00am

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The penny finally dropped for both the Geelong Football Club and the AFL on Friday afternoon.

Whether the change of heart first came from chairmen or CEOs or spin doctors from both organisations is unclear, but suddenly all involved reached a collective acceptance that the concussion waiver affair was no storm in a teacup.

In fact, it was threatening to become a scandal. A scandal that could not go unpunished, unscrutinised, nor explained away by wishy-washy press releases.

Geelong president Grant McCabe described the now-removed waiver clauses as a “fail” and has launched a club-wide probe into why the document was not lodged with the AFL or the Players Association.

And the AFL, after a barrage of public criticism for double standards in not sanctioning Geelong, revealed on Friday afternoon that it had just sent the club a “please explain”. Due process – the club had after all breached AFL rules – came late on this occasion.

The revelation that the Geelong Football Club essentially gave Jake Kolodjashnij, a player with a history of brain injuries, the choice between no longer playing or signing a waiver to assume legal responsibility for any future concussions would be disturbing enough without the accompanying stench of what looks like a cover-up.

Not only did the Cats fail to lodge the document with head office back in 2024 after months of talks involving the player and his family saw it signed off and cleared by the Geelong board,........

© The Sydney Morning Herald