AFL 2026, Round 22 Talking Points

The Geelong concussion contract clause scandal has rocked the AFL, with serious questions being asked of the game’s biggest names.

Plus how the accidental flag contender emerged, and much more as the big issues from Round 22 are analysed in Foxfooty.com.au’s Talking Points!

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AFL AND GEELONG BOTH UNDER MICROSCOPE OVER KOLO CLAUSE

It’s not just the Cats who need to provide answers over the secret concussion contract clause that has rocked the game.

Serious questions are being asked of AFL CEO Andrew Dillon, who did the radio rounds on Saturday morning attempting to explain the league’s position, and AFL Commission chair Craig Drummond, who was president of Geelong when the club had Jake Kolodjashnij waive away some of his legal rights were he to be medically retired with concussion.

On Thursday, after the story broke in that morning’s Herald Sun, the AFL took until almost 6pm to release a joint statement with the AFLPA which did very little to calm concerns. And, at the same time, they were telling reporters Geelong would not be punished.

It was never going to work, and it’s baffling that the league thought it might.

Whether at-risk players may, one day, need to sign waivers to protect clubs from lawsuits – when approved by the AFL and AFLPA – is one matter. (Along with whether they would actually stand up in court, which at first glance, they wouldn’t.)

And whether there needs to be a nationwide reckoning on professional athletes being excluded from the workers’ compensation system – they’re the only workers in Australia for whom that’s the case – given the difficulties in finding private insurance, is another.

But it’s the football rules perspective, and the governance perspective, that must be examined first.

Drummond has stepped aside from the investigation, with the Cats expected to receive a six-figure financial sanction, but it’ll be tough to pass the sniff test when the AFL is ruling on the man “down the hallway” – as Herald Sun chief reporter Jay Clark put it on Saturday night.

“Club bosses believe there are significant grounds for Craig Drummond to consider resigning,” Clark said on Fox Footy.

“It’s fair to say after speaking with some of the most senior club figures around the league, faith and confidence in Drummond’s leadership has seriously plummeted.

“How can you sit in judgment of clubs, misdemeanours and health and safety policy when you have overseen, not only overseen a dodgy deal, but kept it secret from the AFL and the AFLPA at the time? It puts him in an untenable position to be honest.

“That’s for him and his Commission to decide, but if he remains in the job, his authority is seriously diminished.”

The Cats appear to have broken the AFL rules around the lodgement of contracts, which would typically be considered a serious offence – especially compared to the likes of Ken Hinkley being whacked $20,000 for putting his arms out like an airplane mocking Jack Ginnivan.

Which is why the AFL’s initial statement, which said Geelong had removed the waiver and any future ones would need to be ticked off, didn’t go anywhere near far enough.

It’s unclear why. Did they not believe it was a serious breach?

And while the moral element – getting a vulnerable player, who’s desperate to keep his AFL career going, to accept such a clause – may not break an official rule, it must surely be taken into account.

“What happens next? Because surely everyone doesn’t emerge unscathed from that. There needs to be some repercussions and some penalties,” Fox Footy host Sarah Jones said on Saturday.

“The AFL is very easy to penalise people for a raft of things, this one needs something attached to it. I think the statement we saw on Thursday night where it was just ‘nothing to see here’, it’s just not washing with the football public.

“It felt like there needed to be a media conference when it first happened where some of these questions were answered. The AFL is in a bit of damage control with Andrew Dillon fronting various media channels.”

North Melbourne premiership great David King added: “It’s coming from a different point of view now. I think they were hoping this would almost go away when it first surfaced – and Jay Clark did a great job in putting this to the table. It’s the biggest story of the year right now.

“How does it go from here? No one really knows – and I think we’ve got to get to the absolute details on who knew and what they actually knew … and why did they not take it to the correct channels at the AFL and AFLPA? There’s so much that we don’t know right now – and I think it’s important we all know exactly what happened.

“They don’t want to be doing this. This is a disaster for Andrew Dillon, really – and they’ve had a few own goals now over the last couple of years. They’d want to get through this one quickly and unscathed.”

Clark said when he sought comment from Cats CEO Steve Hocking the day before the story broke, Hocking denied the club had done the deal with Kolodjashnij, and “they would never commit to something like that, or certainly couldn’t recall it”.

After that comment, Richmond great Jack Riewoldt asked: “how can we place any trust in an internal review, when you’ve denied the waiver even existed four days ago?”

Adelaide legend and long-time board member Mark Ricciuto, who knows club dynamics better than almost anyone, alleged the Cats had “deliberately” hidden the waiver.

“They’ve deliberately hid it. The board would’ve known everything. The CEO would’ve known,” Ricciuto said.

“They have tried to hide it. They’re in trouble, there’s no doubt about it, it’s just how much trouble the AFL wants to put them in.”

You know what they say. The cover-up is often worse than the crime.

‘CONTEST AND DEFENCE’ TO MUST-WATCH: HOW ACCIDENTAL HANDOVER UNLOCKED SHOCK FLAG SURGE

As ecstatic Melbourne players celebrated their biggest win of the season – perhaps their most significant since the 2021 premiership – over Fremantle, coach Steven King walked around the MCG boundary line.

And the Demons members in the MCC Reserve rose as one and applauded their coach, who now has a serious case for the AFL coach of the year.

For what he’s achieved with this side in 2026 is one of the great stories of the season.

But perhaps the most telling part is that, after leading Melbourne to a stunning four-point victory over ladder-leading Fremantle in Saturday’s game-of-the-year contender, King was quick to remind everyone where the foundations of his side were laid: By the man he replaced.

Simon Goodwin was sacked by Melbourne just over 12 months ago – less than four years after leading the Demons to a drought-breaking premiership – with the club coming off a 14th-placed finish.

Now, under King, Melbourne has surged to the brink of the top four with 14 wins from 21 games, transforming its style along the way.

The Demons have become one of the competition’s most watchable teams, with slicker ball movement and an irrepressible offensive flair. But Saturday’s victory over the Dockers also showcased the other side of Melbourne’s resurgence: Its toughness, resilience and ability to withstand pressure before finding a way to win.

And King believes that part of the Demons’ DNA was already firmly embedded.

Asked post-game if the AFL world had overlooked Melbourne’s toughness while focusing instead on its flashy style this year, King told Fox Footy: “I think you missed the foundations of what was already here.

“They won a premiership five years ago. Simon Goodwin was a great coach of this footy club. So I’ve walked into a group that knows how to compete around the footy and defend.

“Our balance has always been around ball in-hand and risk versus reward – and I feel like we don’t just cough up too many free goals and we’re in games.

“The boys, they amaze me this playing group. They’re unbelievable.”

When King addressed his side after its statement win over Fremantle, it would’ve been easy to simply accept all the accolades.

Instead, he turned the spotlight to Goodwin and the formidable foundation he had laid, allowing his successor to add new layers to the Demons’ game.

Fox Footy commentator David King said the transition from Goodwin to Steven King – albeit unintentional – has worked a treat.

“At the end of Simon Goodwin’s tenure, they were sick of hearing ‘contest and defence’,” the dual premiership Kangaroo told Fox Footy. “It served them so well, it won them a premiership.

“But this is different, this is must-watch. You’ve got to get here to see the Demons.”

“I look at this handover, and there’s a lot of Brendan McCartney to Luke Beveridge (at the Western Bulldogs) about this. McCartney was the defend-first and contest coach – and then Beveridge came in, and he brought the ball movement, flair and a bit of system … and they had both modes covered. They inherently had the contest work, which served them so well, and they built layers from there.

“This is exactly the same. Simon Goodwin’s given them an unbelievable growth period in contest and defence – and they were looking for a change. They needed something new, something to reinvigorate the group – and you can see it in the captain (Max Gawn) and Kozzy Pickett. They love this mode, and I think they’re best served with both coaches.”

Triple premiership-winning Brisbane captain and former Carlton coach Michael Voss said the Demons were “unrelenting in the way they want to play”.

“We talk about Melbourne and how expressive they are with the ball and the speed they want to play at,” Voss told Fox Footy. “But they value the tough stuff, they value the contest.

“Do not underestimate this team for how tough they are, both at the contest and winning the contested ball, but also when they find themselves with their backs to the wall. They’ve got momentum against them, they find a way – and that’s a special quality. It’s a mature team; there’s a lot of leadership that’s required to be able to arrest those sort of situations.

“They’re so well placed as a football team right now. It’s been about belief-building throughout the course of this year, but they would have absolute faith and belief in one another right now to be able to get the job done on this stage.”

The result has put Melbourne right in the premiership mix.

Asked if he thought his team could challenge for the 2026 premiership, Steven King said: “I feel like we can beat anyone on our day.

“I haven’t looked too far ahead beyond today, and we’ve still got two really important games. It was a significant hurdle last week qualifying to play finals – and I just wanted to make sure we kept looking ahead at who was above us to take scalps and not worry about what was below us. I just know they’ll take a lot of belief out of that and we should fear no one.

“I’m just in love with this group’s character and resilience. I’m in awe of it. I just feel so lucky and honoured to be able to sit here and coach this group. Any challenge I’ve thrown at them or they’ve thrown at each other or the game thrown at them, they’ve just stepped up.”

‘GROUNDHOG DAY’ FOR BEVO IN BUTTERS WORRY… AND GREATS ARE BACKING DARK HORSE

Zak Butters, are you watching?

Because if the supposedly Bulldogs-bound superstar tuned in on Thursday night, he’d surely have questions.

How can a Bontempelli-Richards-English centre bounce brigade be beaten so comprehensively?

Will one or two additions this offseason really fix everything in defence?

And will Luke Beveridge still be cemented as coach in a year’s time?

Because it’s a “Groundhog Day” situation for the 2016 premiership mentor, who once again faces contract uncertainty in the distance.

Beveridge signed a two-year extension last June, securing his tenure through 2027, and it seems he’ll again have to “sing for his supper” to snag another deal.

Since their 2021 grand final loss, the Bulldogs have finished eighth (lost elimination final), ninth, sixth (lost elimination final) and ninth last year.

“It’s Groundhog Day, isn’t it?” Thursday Night Footy’s Jon Ralph said.

“This club was desperately hoping that it would see something different; something we haven’t seen since 2021, which is a deep finals run.

“And that would allow them to extend (Beveridge’s) contract past 2027. (He’s) one of six coaches who is about to go into next season without a new contract.”

After Melbourne’s upset victory over Fremantle at the MCG on Saturday, the Bulldogs are all but locked into wildcard weekend.

They’d need to make up two games and almost 14.0 percentage points to finish in the top six.

And with games against Carlton and the Demons to finish the home-and-away season, there remains a mathematical chance of the Dogs missing finals altogether on 12 wins.

“It’s really challenging … This is a club that, at least last year, was number one in attack by a significant margin. Clearly, they had defensive issues. They tried to fix some of those,” Ralph said.

“I’m not sure what their profile is right now; their best players are struggling, the depth players are not there.

“The worst possible scenario is they’ll go into next year not having extended their coach, and doing what they did last year in having to get Beveridge singing for his supper.

“It’s not ideal; but there’s no way they could extend his contract past ‘27 if they can’t win a final.”

Hall of Fame Legend Jason Dunstall believed there isn’t a need for movement on Beveridge’s contract.

“And there’s no need to do anything at this particular point in time,” he said.

“It’s a big loss losing Sam Darcy for the season. They had significant injuries throughout the course of the year, so you’ve got to take that into account.

“But get another pre-season into the players, hopefully get Darcy back ready to go, hit the ground running.

“Because it was a month into the season this year they were nearly premiership favourites; they were flying and beating the good teams … They did a lot of good things.

“I think you’ve got to judge them on their merits — they’ve had a little bit of an unlucky year. Who’s to say they won’t bounce back hard next season?”

And it’s that exact discussion point that will ring in Butters’ mind as he continues to ponder over free agency.

The Bulldogs, for ages, it seems, have been considered the out-and-out frontrunner in the race for the Power ace.

But with Geelong continuing its winning run, the money and long-term promise on offer at Richmond, and Collingwood looming, which way Butters is leaning is anyone’s punt.

“We’re all guessing about Zak Butters, but he’d be looking at games like that (the Dogs’ loss to North Melbourne) and looking at teams like Geelong, who might be climbing into the top four,” Ralph added.

“I’m not suggesting there’s any way he would say ‘if (the Bulldogs) don’t win a final, I won’t come to them’, but they’re all challenges for this club as they try to build their list and fix some holes …”

The Bulldogs have been strongly linked to free agent key defender Jordon Butts, but even if he joins the Whitten Oval fray, there’ll still be questions over whether he alone is the fix.

Beveridge’s side is sixth-worst in the competition at allowing scores per inside-50, and fifth-last for opposition forward-half scores.

“They have holes,” dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna said.

“It’s a transition year. They’re still getting games into young players, trying to fix up their defence.

“And hopefully for them next year, they do land a few players they want, and then with Sam Darcy back they can have another crack at it.”

But the Tigers, armed with their cash war chest and suite of highly-touted youngsters, continue to linger as the dark horse Butters suitor.

It’s been in the pipeline for months that Richmond has reportedly offered Butters as much as $18 million over eight years to commit to Tigerland.

Injuries have meant Adem Yze hasn’t been able to get the best out of his wunderkinds just yet, with Jonty Faull, Harry Armstrong, Tom Sims and Josh Smillie all cruelled this season.

But Sam Lalor alone is a drawcard, while Taj Hotton looks like the second-coming of Shane Edwards mixed with Shai Bolton.

And after toppling West Coast and coming mightily close to upsetting Adelaide on Saturday night, the Richmond arrow is starting to point back up.

“I think Zak, or any other player, would be looking at the performance over the last two weeks going, ‘maybe the tide is turning’,” triple Tigers premiership forward Jack Riewoldt said.

“Obviously, injuries have been the biggest issue for the Tigers this year, and it’s not just their ability to put a side out on the park; it affects training during the week and how many numbers you’ve got on the track.

“I know that they’re in full attracting talent (mode) now.

“They’ve been on the draft route a couple of times now, and they’ve got all those first-round draft picks.

“Now, they need to start securing some top-end talent to come in and lead this club.”

Adelaide legend Mark Ricciuto declared that if he were Butters, he’d be choosing Richmond over the Dogs and Cats.

“If you believe what you hear with the numbers and opportunities he’s got from the clubs, I think, long-term, I’d go to Richmond,” Ricciuto said.

“The offer’s there, they’ve got improvement, and I reckon they’ll be a good side in three years.

“You couldn’t guarantee that with a few of the other clubs that are putting their hands up.”

Riewoldt added: “In the cold, hard light of day, can you imagine if he went to Geelong, with everything that’s happening in the current landscape involving Geelong?

“And watching the Bulldogs the other night … I think Richmond is the destination for Zak Butters.

“They’re the club, they’ve got the high-end talent there, they’ve still got some good players like Tim Taranto around them.

“I really do believe that. I think it clicks, and once they get games into their young kids … Josh Smillie is a first-round draft pick who we haven’t even seen in two years.

“That will be the thing that I think Zak will be looking at, going, ‘not where am I going to win one next year, where can I potentially win one in the next five years?’

“I think Richmond are massively in the hunt … especially after tonight’s performance.”

LIONS STAR THAT SHOULD BE IN AA CONTENTION FLYING UNDER THE RADAR

You hear a lot about the likes of Nick Watson and Murphy Reid as the brightest young forwards in the league.

But rising Lions star Kai Lohmann is flying under the radar in his own brilliant season as an All-Australian smoky.

The 23-year old produced the highest-rated game of his career against Hawthorn, booting an equal career-high five goals from a personal best 24 disposals.

There was something symbolic about Lohmann lighting up at one end of the ground while Watson, who’s widely considered a lock for the AA team, was held goalless on the other end.

Though Logan Morris has drawn much of the plaudits for leading that Lions high-octane attack, Lohmann is having his own stellar season.

The 185cm boy from Ballarat is one of those players that makes footy look easy at times with his craft around goals and knack for making things happen in Brisbane’s forward line.

The cheeky goalsneak’s 46 majors — equal with teammate Charlie Cameron — has him sitting top 10 in the Coleman Medal and ahead of Aaron Naughton, Mitch Georgiades, Shannon Neale, Nick Larkey and Jeremy Cameron.

What’s more, Lohmann, one of the top five most improved players this season, is the sixth-highest rated general forward.

It has Lohmann ranked higher than Murphy Reid, another who’s widely seen to be in line for a maiden AA blazer.

The Brisbane former No. 21 draft pick’s strong campaign certainly hasn’t been lost on his coach.

“I thought Kai Lohmann’s performance tonight was one of the (most) special games I’ve ever seen a small forward play,” Chris Fagan said after the win over Hawthorn.

“He got a lot of the ball, his tackle pressure was sensational and he kicked five goals so it was a pretty good night for him too.

“He just has his pressure right. He doesn’t have to worry about doing those freakish things, they just happen. When he focuses entirely on putting pressure on, his game seems to come together.

“Every now and then I threaten to put him on the wing. He doesn’t want to play there, so I say it occasionally and it makes him play better as a forward.”