Collingwood coach Craig McRae will be meeting with the AFL's powerbrokers next Monday in the wake of the saga surrounding Lachie Schultz's concussion.
The Pies pressure forward suffered a heavy knock in the win over Fremantle at Optus Stadium, and was evidently struggling with the hit, which should have prompted the umpires to halt the game.
However, the play continued, and fortunately, the ball was kicked out of Schultz's area by teammate Nick Daicos, who found Jamie Elliott inside 50.
The league provided a statement the following day after contacting Collingwood, detailing that the officiating umpires were not aware of the former Dockers' injury. However, a new statement brought to light by audio leaked by The Age reporter Caroline Wilson on The Agenda Setters confirms the umpires were aware of Schultz and chose to continue play.
"The statement we released was incorrect, but we were given the wrong information from the umpires," AFL's general manager of football Laura Kane said.
"Got an injured player in the middle. I'm watching."
Exclusive vision and audio of the umpires acknowledging Lachie Schultz's injury, obtained by The Agenda Setters. pic.twitter.com/uas5GevK5s
โ 7AFL (@7AFL) May 13, 2025
"Having said that, this is on me. It's the footy department that runs umpiring and that sits with me."
McRae defended the leadership at AFL house despite the code-wide criticism of how Kane and league CEO Andrew Dillon have dealt with the story.
The 2023 premiership coach is set to "express" a few concerns of his at the meeting with the AFL next Monday, and insisted there would be some "teething problems" following a change in leadership.
EGM of Football Charlie Gardi ner was also "surprised with some of the internal communications", speaking on Wednesday about the situation.
"It hasn't changed too much from our perspective," Gardiner said.
"A little bit surprised with some of the internal communications... We were contacted on Friday as a check-in, and they informed us that they felt that the right decision would have been to stop the game. But we haven't had any further contact other than that."
Gardiner felt for the umpires in the moment who got it wrong.
"It's a judgment call for the umpires who are officiating," Gardiner added.
"It's not an easy game to umpire, and I think we call concede, we've got to continue to try and get better. I think this is a very isolated incident."
Schultz has subsequently been placed in concussion protocols, but the club has said he is progressing well. He'll miss the Round 10 clash with Adelaide on Saturday.
