Updated September 6, 2026 — 4:36pm,first published 12:56pmIn today’s AFL briefing:Gryan Miers advocates for Jake Koldjashnij’s return to football.Luke McDonald says Kangaroos players loved Alastair Clarkson.Geelong forward Gryan Miers wants the AFL Players’ Association to find a way for key defender Jake Kolodjashnij to resume his football career before the year is out.Jake Kolodjashnij, pictured in 2024, signed an agreement acknowledging the risks he was taking if he continued playing after an ambigious concussion panel findingAFL PhotosThe 31-year-old has not played since the revelation he signed an agreement with the club in February 2024 to mitigate the Cats’ exposure to risk following an ambiguous finding from the AFL’s concussion panel.The agreement was not lodged with the AFL and the Cats received a $140,000 fine for the breach, which they accepted.It also included a contentious clause which was removed after drawing condemnation from the Players’ Association, despite players’ representatives being aware of a similar clause being signed off by a VFL player with a history of concussion earlier in the decade.Miers, who has been playing with what he described as a non-functioning ACL throughout the season, told 3AW on Saturday that he was advocating with the AFLPA for Kolodjashnij’s return.Gryan Miers and Jake Kolodjashnij with their coach Chris Scott (centre) after Geelong’s win in the 2022 grand final.AFL Photos“I am the AFLPA delegate [for Geelong] as well, so I am putting some serious pressure on them because I want ‘Kola’ [Jake Kolodjashnij] to be back out there,” Miers said. “Not only are we in a really good finals campaign but our VFL is in a prelim’ final as well.”Miers said he was disappointed that Kolodjashnij had been forced out of the game due to the controversy. The Players’ Association said players and clubs cannot enter into a contract which is outside the purview of the collective bargaining agreement, even though Kolodjashnij’s career might end without the agreement in place.“I feel really bad for the situation ‘Kola’ is in and I really hope, which doesn’t seem likely at the moment, we can figure something out to get him out there … to hopefully continue his career but, if not, finish it off in the right way,” Miers said.Kolodjashnij has not spoken publicly since revealing himself on August 7 as the player who signed the agreement, which the club considered an acknowledgment of risk but was also designed to mitigate the club’s risk if a future legal claim relating to concussion occurred.Gryan Miers has kept playing with an unstable ACL which will require surgery at season’s end. Getty ImagesHe entered into the agreement willingly and had played with it for nearly three seasons before the agreement was revealed. His teammates are offering him support as he continues to train. Both the Cats AFL and VFL teams will play finals this weekend.Miers said he was determined to ensure Kolodjashnij was not forgotten after the Cats’ penalty. He said it was now up to the AFL and Players’ Association’s vow to address issues which had been allowed to drift since Kolodjashnij received his finding from the concussion panel.“[It’s] in the hands of people that I am not involved in, but I am putting some pressure on whoever I can to make sure the questions are being asked for ‘Kola’ because I don’t feel like he should be in the position he is in right now from it,” Miers said. “I guess it is a really confusing and tough situation for all involved, and for the future of the game as well, so I understand why things are happening but, where I can, I am trying to help him out.”‘We loved Clarko’: North veteran reacts to ruthless coach sackingKangaroos’ veteran Luke McDonald says the players loved their former coach Alastair Clarkson as intrigue around North Melbourne’s decision to sack the four-time premiership coach continues to bubble.North Melbourne veteran Luke McDonald spoke about the club’s decision to cut coach Alastair Clarkson.Chris HopkinsMcDonald, who has played under four coaches during his 236-match career, said he felt as though the team was about to launch and described the vacant coaching job as an “enviable job” because of the talent on the list.He said Clarkson – a four-time premiership coach at Hawthorn – took the North Melbourne job when the club was “at a pretty low ebb”, bringing stability to Arden Street.“We loved ‘Clarko’,” McDonald said. “We got on really well with Clarko. He had a big impact on a number of our players, but in saying that we also support the club’s decision because we are not where we want to be right now. We want to still be playing. We want to be playing finals.”Sacked North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson.Getty ImagesDespite all that, McDonald said he supported the board’s decision to end Clarkson’s tenure with one year remaining on his contract. He also excused football manager Todd Viney’s brutally frank remarks about Clarkson’s performance in the post-sacking press conference on Wednesday.“It’s an emotional decision ... we support the club’s decision and we want to be playing September footy,” McDonald said.Viney and president Sonja Hood told Clarkson his time was up on Tuesday night following a unanimous board decision. He said the coach didn’t see the decision coming, but it was based on feedback from key people within the club that indicated they had lost their belief that Clarkson was the right man for the job.Viney said there were “gaping” holes in the gameplan when providing reasons for the decision at the post-sacking press conference. Clarkson hit back in an interview with this masthead saying he felt as though the club had “danced on my grave” with their comments.McDonald – who was co-captain of the Kangaroos under Clarkson in 2023 and 2024 – refused to comment on whether the coach’s communication of the gameplan was confusing for the players.“I am not going to get into the nitty-gritty on the reasons because, at the end of the day, there is a lot of information the board have that we don’t as players,” McDonald said.“We are not where we want to be as a footy club. We want to keep improving and keep getting better. That comes from the playing group. Obviously, we are going to bring in a new coach who is going to help that, but it’s going to come from our leaders, our young guys getting better and that is what we can control.”North Melbourne have not played finals since 2016, and Clarkson was the fourth coach to lead the team since Brad Scott – who took them to two preliminary finals. McDonald has played under Clarkson, Scott, Rhyce Shaw and David Noble.“When a decision like that is made, the first thing you do as players is reflect on yourself,” McDonald said.“We have got to be better and play better footy and put ourselves in better positions that don’t lead to these decisions. The first thing we do as players is look at ourselves.“We support the club’s decision, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”He said he didn’t know what type of coach the team needed but he was confident the board would make the right call despite the past three coaches now failing to lead the team to finals.“I would have thought it would be an enviable job,” McDonald said.Teammate Jackson Archer said he did not have a bad word to say about Clarkson, but the decision showed that the AFL is a cut-throat industry.More:AFL 2026Alastair ClarksonNorth Melbourne KangaroosGeelong CatsConcussion crisisFrom our partners