As the Australian Football League (AFL) prepares for another weekend of high-stakes round matches, North Melbourne Kangaroos head coach Alastair Clarkson has shared his perspective on the ongoing concussion protocol controversy engulfing the Geelong Cats, arguing that the off-field saga could ultimately strengthen the Cats’ on-field performance when the two sides face off this Saturday.
Clarkson’s squad enters the matchup fresh off one of their most impressive wins of the 2026 season, having defeated the Western Bulldogs by a comfortable 23-point margin last weekend. While Geelong has been thrown into chaos by the scandal, which centers on a controversial concussion waiver policy involving Cats player Jake Kolodjashnij, Clarkson told reporters Thursday that he is bracing for the Cats to play their best football of the season, regardless of the off-field turmoil.
“Does it distract them what’s going on inside their footy club, or doesn’t it actually galvanise them? I’ve seen it work both ways,” Clarkson said. “We can’t control what happens inside the walls of the Geelong Football Club, but what we can control is how we approach this game and we’ve got to bring a similar approach to what we brought against the Western Bulldogs.”
Geelong head coach Chris Scott pushed back against repeated media questions about the saga and Kolodjashnij during his Wednesday weekly press conference, describing the intense public and press demand for details as “quite savage”. The AFL launched an official investigation into the club’s protocols last week, with the governing body originally expected to wrap up its inquiry this past Tuesday. Kolodjashnij has been ruled out of selection for this weekend’s clash as a result of the ongoing controversy.
Clarkson noted that while Geelong’s underlying goal of prioritizing player care was well-intentioned, the incident offers a critical learning opportunity for every club across the league. “It’s all about risk management, with everything you do with your football club and I think even within the Geelong camp, I think the premise of what they were trying to do, look after their player was right,” he explained. “But it will present an opportunity for 17 clubs, 18 if you include Tassie to address their protocols and their governance just to make sure they’re protecting their players and their footy club as best as they possibly can moving forward.”
For the Kangaroos, the match carries personal stakes even as the team has already been eliminated from 2026 finals contention. With just two rounds left in the regular season, Clarkson is focused on spoiling the finals hopes of top-ranked opponents, starting with Geelong this weekend. Clarkson, who will enter 2027 without a contract extension for the following season, will lead his squad to a final matchup against second-placed Sydney at the SCG after this Saturday’s home game against the Cats.