‘Grown man’: AFL greats divided over Cats’ concussion waiver
As Geelong continues to face intense scrutiny over their decision to allow defender Jake Kolodjashnij to sign a waiver making him responsible for further concussion-related injuries, two clear sides of the argument have emerged.
Former Adelaide captain Rory Sloane has compared the situation to the end of his own career, when he retired in 2024 due to concerns about a significant eye injury.
Jake Kolodjashnij of the Cats leaves the field with medical staff during the 2024 season. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Sloane suffered a number of eye injuries across his career, including a torn retina and a fractured eye socket and despite training and looking ready to play for the Crows in 2024, he was told the risk of a significant eye injury was too great and he ultimately retired.
However, had he been earlier in his career, the star midfielder wonders whether he may have made a different decision.
Sloane asked on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show whether there would have been the same outrage for an eye injury as the league is currently seeing with Kolodjashnij’s concussions.
“I absolutely would’ve signed it. Is the fact that this was concussion-based the bit that was most shocking about this? If I signed a waiver to say I was happy to play with my eye injury, would we have as big of an issue?” Sloane asked.
Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd believes Geelong offering him the waiver suggests he was no longer in a position to continue playing.
“My issue is if you’re running a football club and you care for that player, I’d be saying ‘I’m concerned you could cop a concussion that affects you for the rest of your life, I’m not giving you a contract’,” Lloyd said.
“You say to Jake ‘I fear for you, I’m not going to let you sign a form, we are not giving you a contract’.
“You’ve got another life at 30. We are not giving you that contract because we care for you that much.”
Sloane, however, sees it differently, saying: “You’re a grown man in your mid or late 20s, surely you can make your own decision?”
Lloyd feels players will do anything to extend their careers, and the responsibility needs to be taken out of their hands.
“Players in that situation will do anything to play,” he said.
“You just see the catastrophic nature of what happens to players’ lives after that.
“I think if a player needs to sign a waiver for the club to be comfortable for him to play, you say ‘sorry we can’t offer you a contract’ so you never get to this point.”
To Lloyd’s point, Western Bulldogs champion Nathan Brown added he “would have be happy to sign” the waiver to extend his career if offered it.
It remains unclear whether Geelong will face an AFL sanction for the waiver, given they did not lodge it with the league or the AFL Player’s Association.
AFL boss Andrew Dillon said on Saturday they would continue looking into the matter across the next week.
