In today’s AFL Briefing, your daily wrap of footy news:
- Saints chief Dilena backs Lyon, says issue with Indigenous players is resolved.
- Magpies to rest Pendlebury before record-equalling game.
- AFL players will no longer be able to claim for career-ending head trauma through insurance.
St Kilda chief executive officer Carl Dilena says no further action is needed over the incident between Ross Lyon and the club’s Indigenous players, saying the “innocent oversight” that prompted the veteran coach to offer to reconsider his position at the club has been resolved internally.
In fact, Dilena said he only became aware of the incident on Monday night, shortly before it was made public by Age columnist Caroline Wilson on Channel Seven’s Agenda Setters.
Wilson revealed Lyon offered to reconsider his position as St Kilda coach after a learning a comment he made at training had upset Indigenous players at the club.
Wilson reported on the program that Lyon, after a training drill in which three Indigenous players linked up, said: “I love the Brotherboy connection, but we all have to remember we are part of a bigger team here.”
In a radio interview with Gerard Whateley on SEN, Dilena said he became aware of the incident on Monday night, before Wilson’s segment went to air.
“It was a pretty innocent oversight by Ross, not meaning any harm, and it shows that he’s running a pretty safe environment with our First Nations boys where they were comfortable to raise it with him, discuss it and sort it out harmoniously,” he said.
“They sorted it out between themselves like any mishap.
“It was a positive outcome. Even though Ross says he was very emotional about it – because the last thing he wants to do is upset our First Nations players who he is very close with – it’s a matter in the workplace that got resolved and didn’t need to be elevated beyond that.”
Lyon told Wilson his comments “didn’t land where it should have landed” and could have been construed as “casual racism”.
When asked if Lyon’s comments constituted casual racism, Dilena said “you had to look at it through the lens of the person receiving the comment”.
“There’d be people out there going, ‘Really, was that very serious?’, and Ross didn’t think anything of it at the time,” he said.
“Yet it is very challenging and as we’ve seen in various instances it’s how it’s received more so than how it’s delivered. That’s always the challenge with casual racism or unconscious bias.
“People don’t think of it, but probably need to be more aware of it.”
After Wilson’s segment aired, St Kilda Indigenous player Bradley Hill posted a picture of himself and Wanganeen-Milera arm-in-arm with Lyon on social media on Monday night, with the caption “Sorry Caro, we love Ross”.
Dilena said the club would learn from the experience and said they would be considerate and conscious of the impact of words.
Rest before record for evergreen Pendlebury
Jon Pierik
Collingwood great Scott Pendlebury will be rested from Thursday night’s blockbuster against Hawthorn, as the Magpies continue to weigh up selection and commercial realities ahead of his record-breaking game.
Pendlebury, 38, has played 431 games and will equal North Melbourne champion Brent Harvey’s record of 432 when he next lines up.
The Magpies face Geelong at the MCG in a fortnight, when it’s now expected Pendlebury will equal Harvey’s record, but they then must determine whether he breaks the record outright against premiership contender Sydney at the SCG, or is again rested and waits until the home clash against the West Coast at the MCG in round 11 when more than 90,000 could be expected to attend.
Pendlebury had a career-high 43 disposals and a whopping 19 score involvements against Essendon on Anzac Day, where he was best afield, but has told McRae he wants to be rested this week.
McRae said there had not been any consideration to limiting his minutes against the Bombers, particularly late in the game when the Magpies had all but secured the four points, so he could play this week. He played 92 per cent of game time in the final quarter.
“I don’t want to forecast the future, but it might [have been] his last ever Anzac Day [game]. So, to enjoy that whole experience, and then athletes – in the zone, they are in flow – there’s all that. But, ultimately, we listen to our athletes and what they want to do,” McRae said.
“He won’t play this game, but he’ll play Geelong, and we’ll see where that goes. Again, we’ll have a conversation when that game is done. [Consider] how his body is, and then we all weight up performance, too. It’s a delicate balance this one.”
However, McRae said he had had “some conversations with the executive team” about the commercial aspect and preparation that went into planning Pendlebury’s milestone game.
“Truthfully, I said: ‘Can you just keep that on the other side of the building because we are here to perform. We just get that right’,” McRae said.
“Then, obviously, there has to be plans for the future because there are all sorts of things going on behind the scenes to celebrate Pendles because we don’t want to miss that. So we’ll let people do that, and we’ll just live in our space and get our job done there.”
McRae said the Magpies wanted Pendlebury fit and healthy come the business end of the season.
While Pendlebury will be rested, McRae confirmed skipper Darcy Moore has cleared all fitness hurdles and would return from a hamstring strain for just his second game of the season. Moore trained strongly on Tuesday, and completed sprint work.
Midfielder Ned Long, rested against the Bombers, appears the likely replacement for Pendlebury.
“Yeah, yeah, there’s some decisions made accordingly [at selection last week],” McRae said.
Small forward Bobby Hill was again active around goal, having made his return to football via the VFL last weekend when he played 40 per cent of the game.
McRae said the 2023 Norm Smith medallist would play up to 80 per cent game time this weekend in the VFL, but refused to declare when he would be available for senior selection.
“I often say people have got to go through things to be better, and he is working through that,” McRae said.
The Magpies again come face-to-face with Jack Ginnivan, who was traded amid acrimony after the club’s 2023 premiership to the Hawks. Ginnivan had annoyed the Magpies by attending the Moonee Valley races on grand final eve, prompting McRae to say he had failed to “read the room”.
Ginnivan was a goal-kicking forward with the Magpies, but has since blossomed into a fine all-round player with the Hawks, pushing into the midfield and further afield in a team McRae rates as “the best team in the competition right now”.
“It’s really good to see Jack playing well. I’m watching him play different roles, wing and half-forward. He’s always been a clever player,” McRae said.
McRae said the Magpies were still in the hunt for Gold Coast forward Ben King, a restricted free agent who has been offered a two-year contract extension by the Suns.
“He’ll be a free agent we are interested in, but a ‘race’ is an interesting terminology. I will leave that up to ‘Leppa’ [list and talent boss Justin Leppitsch], and our list management committee. We meet monthly. His name is still up on the board, as far as I am aware,” McRae said.
‘A sign of the times’: Head trauma insurance to end for AFL players
Jon Pierik
AFL players will no longer be able to claim for career-ending head trauma through insurance, as a premiership coach expects the amount of contact work at training to decrease.
The AFL Players Association and Zurich Insurance confirmed to this masthead that from Friday, more than 500 AFL players will no longer be covered by total disability benefits from brain injuries in their superannuation.
Players were informed in March that their policy would change next month. Should they be hurt before the deadline, they can still claim after the May 1 deadline.
Zurich Insurance has made the move because it says there is “widespread uncertainty” around chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the degenerative brain disease that contributed to the deaths of St Kilda great Danny Frawley, Richmond forward Shane Tuck, West Coast premiership player Adam Hunter and AFLW premiership player Heather Anderson.
“Beyond individual or group insurance arrangements, we acknowledge the establishment of the ‘Severe Injury Benefit’ by the AFL and AFLPA in May 2025, to support players who have suffered a significant cognitive or bodily impairment from playing football,” Zurich Insurance said in a statement.
Players were able to claim as much as $1.1 million in death and TPD cover through their superannuation. As of May 1, that cover will fall by $650,000 and death cover will fall by $350,000.
AFL football operations boss Greg Swann said Zurich’s decision was “a bit of the sign of the times with what’s happening with the … various cases that are being held”.
Player agent and concussion campaigner Peter Jess questioned why players had to pay for potential compensation, declaring the AFL had a “moral and statutory obligation to the employees”.
The AFL and players association had $54 million in funding, but there are fears among league sources, wishing to remain anonymous to speak freely, that this won’t be enough.
The league continues to fight a concussion class action lawsuit brought by Margalit Injury Lawyers, spearheaded by former Geelong premiership star Max Rooke.
More than half of the current AFL playing group and some AFLW players are insured by Zurich. The company’s shift comes as there has been a significant influx of concussion-related claims, including by former Melbourne premiership player Angus Brayshaw, who remains in a stand-off with Zurich over his payment.
He is reportedly seeking a pay-out worth about $1 million. Despite seven doctors supporting his claim, Zurich has not approved the payout. The case is now before the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, which did not wish to comment when contacted by this masthead.
Judge John Cain recommended at the coronial inquest into Tuck’s death in 2023 that there be less contact training. While clubs are more vigilant than ever, there are still cases of concussion from training.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae, a three-time Brisbane premiership player, said the Magpies had not changed their routine, but he expected change.
“No, but I definitely think part of that is coming. I know other sports are doing it. We keep stringent data on how much contact we do. We have got to report that to the AFL, too. [It’s] definitely part of the game you think is going to evolve as well,” McRae said on Tuesday.
Skipper Darcy Moore told this masthead in 2024 the Magpies had been more “deliberate” in how they managed contact training.
McRae said concussion-related injuries remained a major concern for the league.
“I stand in front of you, I had nine concussions, and I’m really concerned about that part of the game,” McRae said.
“And I’m watching mates of mine go through similar things and things that aren’t great. We’re learning lessons on the run. Ideally, we are making decisions around our game, clearly we already have to make the game better, so the future of the game is safe because player safety is paramount.
“The rule changes, whatever it takes, I am a huge fan for that. Ideally, the whole game evolves and we protect the players. We come to watch the players, nothing else.”
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
Hannah Kennelly is an award-winning sports reporter and Formula 1 writer at The Age.Connect via email.
Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.