For Geelong, the safest path on Kolodjashnij was the hardest. They took the easy way

August 14, 2026 — 9:30am

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Everyone walking upright has this week opined on the vexed matter of Jake Kolodjashnij and his treatment by his employer, the Geelong Football Club.

To recap, Kolodjashnij, a 30-year-old player with a history of concussive incidents, signed a waiver that saw him assume responsibility for future on-field head injuries in a secret deal with the Cats that was not approved by the AFL.

The latest development, of the AFL Commission instructing an independent lawyer to determine whether the clubhas contravened any AFL rule, is important. It’s equally irrespective.

Kolodjashnij’s injury history was in 2024 examined by the AFL’s concussion panel, which effectively green-lighted him to continue playing. That isn’t the same as being given an entirely clean bill of health. These things can be inconclusive and not sufficient to end a player’s career, but at the same time problematic.

What seems to have occurred next, though, is perplexing. In circumstances where AFL players are excluded from statutory worker’s compensation schemes, and where it’s vanishingly impossible for them to secure alternate coverage in the insurance marketplace that includes cover for head trauma and latent-onset neurological conditions, the Cats asked the player to execute a document as a condition of continued employment.

A document which apparently included provisions regarding Kolodjashnij’s informed consent (ie, an acknowledgement of what he would be exposing himself to by continuing to play) and what has been portrayed as a “liability waiver”, purported to exonerate the club.

This document – also, apparently – was produced under a cloak of secrecy, to the point it wasn’t disclosed to the AFL Players Association nor registered with........

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