Source :- THE AGE NEWS
The AFL Commission has engaged independent legal counsel to help decide the outcome of the Geelong concussion probe.
The commission and chief executive Andrew Dillon met on Saturday and engaged a senior legal figure who will act directly for the commission in deciding whether the Cats are sanctioned or not over the club’s secret agreement with Jake Kolodjashnij.
The premiership defender, who has a history of concussion, waived some of his legal rights in the event of further head knocks.
The independent lawyer, who a source confirmed is a respected King’s Counsel, will form a position on what AFL rules, if any, have been broken.
Dillon has asked that Geelong’s response to the league’s “please explain” go directly to him, a decision to avoid a perception of AFL staff potentially sitting in judgement of their own conduct.
“Across the weekend, the AFL CEO and Commission met (minus Craig Drummond) and engaged independent legal counsel to assist the Commission’s determination in response to Geelong’s submission,” a league spokesperson said.
A decision on a Geelong sanction will rest with the commission – again, minus Drummond – and not with the AFL executive – a departure from standard practice.
This masthead reported that Geelong’s defence, which is due by the end of Tuesday, would include email correspondence between AFL and Cats officials as they liaised on the informed consent document before it was signed off in early February 2024.
Drummond has recused himself from the case because he was president of Geelong when the contentious “waiver” was signed by Kolodjashnij.
More to come
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Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.
