The two areas in which Geelong failed in the process which enabled premiership defender Jake Kolodjashnij to continue his career in 2024 after the independent concussion panel’s findings added rather than reduced complexity to decisions about his footballing future are clear enough by now.

The document which Kolodjashnij, his family and his experienced insurance advisor Adriana Oreskov agreed to with the club should have been lodged by Geelong with the AFL and the players’ association.

Although it may not have been at the time, it is clear to everyone now, including people within the AFL who were a sounding board for discussions happening between the Cats and Kolodjashnij’s team about a way forward, that the agreement was an extension to the standard playing contract (Kolodjashnij’s deal still had a year to run when the extra agreement was reached).

There is also acknowledgement the document went too far in including a significant line, which AFL chairman then Cats’ president Craig Drummond described in his statement as “a waiver” or, on more generous interpretations, an acknowledgment of risk.

It was unnecessary and probably not worth the paper it was written on given you can’t waive occupational health and safety rights.

For those two reasons, the Cats are likely to cop a heavy financial penalty, which they should.

The rules set out through the collective bargaining agreement exist for a reason and penalties for transgressions, whether deliberate or not, should be applied consistently across the board. Just ask Carlton.

And Geelong should recognise that despite their efforts in recent seasons the exceptionalism that took hold for a period of time post-2022 has no one in any mood to give them the benefit of the doubt in this case.

The AFL’s roadblocks and attempts to be clever whenever the media search for answers on issues have also created suspicion and doubt whenever their leaders speak.

But the other questions surrounding this issue, the player’s and the club’s motivation for wanting and then reaching an agreement are not as cut and dried.

The implications of concussion has put clubs, players and doctors into a medico-legal-insurance reality that is so complex it is understood by very few players or managers let alone supporters.

The reality raises moral and ethical questions that have not yet been as fully aired as they need to be when clubs are confronted with the considerations Kolodjashnij and Geelong had to contemplate in late 2023, early 2024.

The harsh reality is that doctors and insurers are well down the track of walking away from the game because of the risks player injury exposes them to. Personal insurance has dried up for players, premiums are rising for doctors and clubs and who is liable is an issue.

Clubs and players want the game and careers to thrive but they are justifiably worried about where head injuries are taking the game and what has happened to people post-career.

That is what officials mean when they use the word complex which AFLPA CEO James Gallagher emphasised on SEN on Friday night.

“There is a concussion challenge in the game and the players are at risk and the game needs to have a safety network for them and we need to ensure we keep the best medical people in the game as well. They probably at this point unfortunately feel a bit of exposure as well,” Gallagher said.

Which brings us back to the Kolodjashnij case.

The premiership defender wanted to continue his career post the panel finding but it was not as simple as the Cats saying yes or no.

Informed consent was needed from Kolodjashnij to a level which satisfied the club doctors, insurers of both clubs and doctors, the club and his family (his brother Kade had retired due to concussion) who all had a stake in his decision.

Over a two-month process, the club and Kolodjashnij’s representatives developed a document which satisfied all those stakeholders that informed consent was understood and given, an agreement based on previous documents created for sportspeople in similar situations.

Oreskov was his representative. Her company OSE Advisory has his brother and other retired players Marcus Adams and Paddy McCartin offering testimonials on their website as to her work in assisting them navigating insurance policies and claims.

In this case Kolodjashnij found a way towards continuing his career with a representative who had expertise in how to mitigate risk while giving informed consent. He has played 35 AFL games over the past three seasons (he missed 2025 because of other injuries).

Without revealing the significance of his discussions, he told me at the end of 2024 he had carefully considered his decision to play on.

“There were definitely some tough conversations in pre-season but I am thankful that I chose to keep going and push through and it has paid off,” Kolodjashnij said.

Kolodjashnij and his club won’t feel it now but this controversy must force the sensitive discussions happening within clubs and between players into the open so the game confronts what is required to support the players, the doctors, the club boards and the legal experts who are operating on the concussion frontline.

The King of Melbourne inspires the game of the year

On Saturday Melbourne played in the manner Steven King imagined when he integrated high speed running into their pre-season and promised the team would play fast football.

They have now played in three of the best matches of the season with the Dockers’ clash in front of their wins over the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood at the MCG.

The ball flew from end to end as the Demons took their score past 100 points for the fourth time in six matches, having stopped in the nervous nineties in the other two matches.

But the biggest roar from the excited members came at the end of a frenetic passage of play in the middle of the ground after a centre bounce during the second quarter when Melbourne would not let the Dockers execute a clean possession, the ferocity of their tackling a wake-up call to the competition.

It was finals football in the middle of the MCG with 40,938 people making the same sound as 80,000 normally do at the home of footy.

The highlights from both teams were plentiful with Harry Sharp’s late soccer goal and Patrick Voss’s running goal just before half-time were memorable as the game swung on centre bounce clearances, with eight goals coming from that source.

In just his second season Harvey Langford showed why the Demons were so keen to add him to their list with pick six in the 2024 national draft.

He was not their best player but his efforts on the wing in front of the member’s stand symbolised the club’s resurgence under King.

His mark of the year contender in the third quarter was exhilarating but the tackle he laid on Matt Johnson and the strong one-on-one mark he took over when the game was on the line in the final quarter was equally meritorious.

Melbourne’s members are now treating first year coach Steven King with the same reverence Collingwood supporters treated Craig McRae in 2022. They even stood and applauded him as he worked the boundary in the Saturday afternoon shadows following their victory.

Like the Magpies of 2022, the Demons don’t give up. Their ability to hit back whenever they fall behind on the scoreboard was again apparent against the Dockers, who will be a tougher proposition with Alex Pearce playing in defence.

King has the team believing. Winning the flag is no longer unrealistic.

Young Collingwood

Injured Magpie Scott Pendlebury streamed vision on YouTube of himself alone at home on the couch watching Collingwood qualify for the wildcard round against the Eagles. The 38-year-old’s groaning and involuntary twitching showed the result meant as much to him to Pies’ fans who faced the game with trepidation.

The champion was one of the five changes which saw Jordan De Goey, Jeremy Howe, Patrick Lipinski and Harry Perryman take 1258 games out of the team to be replaced by five players with 60 games of experience combined.

But only one man mattered to the Magpies chances and he wore No.35.

Nick Daicos was again sublime as he cemented himself as the best player in the game, with a little over a month to wait before he surely wins his first Brownlow Medal.

Dan McStay, who is going through his best patch of form during his time at Collingwood, was important at one end with three goals and Billy Frampton’s stellar year continued.

The AFL will be rapt to have Collingwood in the wildcard round with the likelihood of a Victorian opponent making it a certain success in its first season.

Rowell rewrites what’s possible

Because statistics don’t tell the whole story we will simply present Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell’s numbers against the Giants and leave the rest to your imagination.

The midfielder had 40 disposals with 28 kicks and 12 handballs. He laid 16 tackles and had 17 clearances, gaining 881 metres for his team. In a week when his offsider Noah Anderson told this masthead how hard the midfield were working with the coaches to get back their buzz, Rowell returned to his best.