Every year at every AFL club, a player will start the season not knowing they are about to leave the game. Few get to leave the sport in control of their exit. The likes of Shane Crawford and Joel Selwood are the exceptions to the norm.
Collingwood had spoken all week about bringing a defensive intent to the game. They delivered, and now the blowtorch has been shifted to the still-winless Lions.
AFL boss Andrew Dillon has told a briefing of all 18 clubs that the league will continue with a health-based illicit drugs policy. In practice, this would mean no sanction on the first offence.
When it is accepted publicly that clubs lie about injuries to cover for players who are taking drugs, or with drugs in their system, pulling out of games casts doubt on players with legitimate injuries or non-drug related personal issues.
St Kilda have a significant war chest at its disposal, as a result of a mixture of frugal player payments and tough calls to let players join rival clubs.
Sport Integrity Australia says it will assess allegations around controversial illicit drug tests in the AFL as the league admits it empowers doctors to remove players from matches if they are at risk of testing positive on match day.
The AFL has a major brand protection imperative. It does not want to look soft on players using drugs. There’s a pressure to be narcotically correct from governments and sponsors.
Rarely has a grand final rematch had this much riding on it. The winner can resurrect their season, the loser’s premiership hopes will be hanging by a thread. These are the burning questions facing Collingwood and Brisbane.
Coach John Longmire and chief executive Tom Harley – both former AFL players – have been quick to distance themselves from explosive claims made by federal MP Andrew Wilkie.
Prioritising the re-signing of players is part and parcel of every club’s list boss’ job description, but some - such as Western Bulldogs, Essendon, Richmond and St Kilda - have a bigger task ahead than others.