Carlton fined $75k over Elijah Hollands saga as AFL boss Andrew Dillon makes damning 'disrepute' call

The AFL has hit Carlton with a $75,000 fine for their handling of the Elijah Hollands situation as chief executive Andrew Dillon declared the Blues had "brought the game into disrepute".

The AFL has also revealed six actions it will take with an aim to heighten healthcare standards across the industry, including making it mandatory for all clubs to have a full-time psychologist across the men's and women's competitions.

Dillon and Laura Kane, the AFL's general manager of AFLW, health and football operations, addressed media on Tuesday after finalising its review into Hollands' involvement in the game between Carlton and Collingwood in round six.

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Hollands experienced a mental health episode during the MCG game and has since been admitted to hospital.

"Having reviewed Carlton's report and conducted further inquiries, we found that there were sufficient visual cues, performance data during the match, and an understanding of Elijah's individual circumstances to indicate that he should have been removed from play earlier than he was," Dillon said.

"We also determined that the delay in removing Elijah from the field resulted in an outcome that brought the game into disrepute.

"These findings have been made against the Carlton Football Club collectively, not against any individual."

The $75,000 fine imposed on Carlton will be donated to the AFL's mental health partner, Headspace – an organisation that helps thousands of young Australians access vital mental health support.

The AFL said it would implement the following six actions:

• Mandate clubs appoint a full-time psychologist within each of the AFL and AFLW programs, with industry consultation on related resourcing and policy requirements to commence immediately
• Review the club football department soft cap, with a view to, amongst other things, increasing minimum investment in healthcare and strengthening expert capability
• Establish industry-wide "psychological fitness to play" best practice guidance, developed in consultation with club healthcare teams
• Mandate expanded mental health literacy training across football departments
• Establish an AFL health and wellbeing committee to advise the executive and commission on clinical governance and implement an industry-wide healthcare incident management system
• Host a mental health media roundtable in partnership with the Black Dog Institute in the lead-up to Spud's Game

Many months prior to the game against Collingwood, Hollands had spoken publicly about his battles with mental health, including mid-game panic attacks.

Despite displaying unusual behaviour before and during the game against Collingwood, Carlton did not remove Hollands from the match until the 20-minute mark of the fourth quarter.

He played 75 per cent of the game up until three-quarter time but tallied just one disposal for the match.

Dillon and Kane reiterated several times that they would not speak about the state of Hollands' health due to privacy, nor discuss certain elements of the review because of confidentiality.

Asked if he wanted Hollands to play AFL football again, Dillon said: "I don't think really that's up to me; I think that's really up to Elijah.

"He's a young man with a lot of his life to lead and to live, but ultimately I want what's best for him."

Kane said the AFL spoke to Hollands as part of its investigation and thanked he and his family for their involvement.

"I won't speak to the specifics of how Elijah's doing, but I will say that we're really grateful for his contribution and that of his family to this inquiry," Kane said.

"What we saw is not something that we want to see again," Kane said in response to another question.

"... I think if we can ensure that we have better processes and that we can try and avoid seeing what we saw two weeks ago, we should.

"... We have to face into these challenges because this is a challenge faced by our broader community, and we need to make sure that as we are with many things, we're at the forefront of care for our players."

An investigation conducted by WorkSafe remains ongoing.

Carlton said in a statement on Tuesday evening that was continuing to work closely with qualified medical professionals "to ensure Elijah is receiving the necessary care, with support being extended to the Hollands family".

"Our support for Elijah comes from a place of genuine care and understanding of him and the challenges he has been experiencing," Carlton chief executive Graham Wright said.

"Our club stands in unwavering support of its medical and wellbeing staff, who continue to conduct themselves with the highest level of professionalism, integrity, and genuine care for all our players and staff.

"We accept the outcome in the interest of enabling all parties to move forward, while continuing to ensure the health and wellbeing of our people remains a priority.

"While our process with the AFL is now concluded, throughout this time we have not lost sight of ensuring Elijah and his family continue to receive all the support and care they need.

"... Elijah is taking the necessary time to prioritise his health and wellbeing right now and he will continue to do so with our full support."