Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Coach Chris Scott has indicated he doesn’t expect to be involved in Geelong’s response to the AFL’s ‘please explain’ notice in regards to the Cats’ secret concussion deal with defender Jake Kolodjashnij.
Pressure has been mounting on the Cats and the AFL since it emerged on Thursday that Geelong struck an agreement with Kolodjashnij, who had a history of concussion, that went unsighted by the league and the AFLPA.
Kolodjashnij signed a waiver whereby he effectively took on legal responsibility for future brain trauma in a bid to exonerate the club and its medical staff from court action down the line.
On Friday, Geelong chief executive Steve Hocking, who confirmed the ‘please explain’ notice, said Scott had been kept “at arm’s length” in regards to the situation, while Kolodjashnij confirmed he was the player involved.
After Geelong’s 67-point win over Essendon on Saturday evening, Scott echoed those comments and insisted he didn’t know enough about the situation to give an informed opinion on it.
Scott said he had only found out about the deal when the story broke on Thursday and described himself as “one of the least informed people here” when pressed on whether he felt the Cats had erred.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon did the radio rounds on Saturday and indicated he expected answers from the Cats next week, before the league makes any decisions.
Scott made it clear he didn’t expect to be involved in that process at least.
“My take on these things is I’m brought in on the things where people think I need to be brought in – and I haven’t been brought in to this point and I suspect I won’t be,” he said.
“I appreciate the questions.
“Even going forward – I’ll do two press conferences a week for the next couple of weeks. Don’t stop asking me if you want to, but I don’t think the answer will change.”
The questions appear certain to keep coming as the concussion scandal grows – after the AFL initially didn’t hand down any sanction on Thursday.
Already on Saturday, AFL Commission chairman Craig Drummond, who was Geelong president when the deal was signed, apologised over the deal.
That follows Hocking on Friday taking responsibility for signing off on the deal which he described as a “misstep”.
“Regardless of the player’s agreement, the club went too far in adding a waiver into an informed consent document and it will be removed,” Drummond said in a statement.
“… As the club has also acknowledged, there was also a process failure in relation to lodgement of the agreement with the AFL and the AFLPA.”
Drummond won’t be involved in the AFL’s assessment and deliberation of the Kolodjashnij situation.
