710 Asbury St

I just got an alert on this and was going to post it. This article underscores lots of the discussions we’ve been having on this board. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-27/afl-mitch-brown-first-openly-bisexual-man-in-league-history/105702662

It’s pretty long so hard to summarise. There’s a few different articles. Also, after reading @Wrecker45 post, they understand insurance far better than I do. That being said, I’m disgusted at the tactics they’ve used—as in obtaining passwords to the player’s social media and all accounts and using it as leverage to avoid paying claims. Using Gus’s wedding and speech last year as evidence he’s not as impacted as he may be, etc. Concussion victims Angus Brayshaw, Nathan Murphy and Paul Seedsman at centre of multi-million dollar insurance stoushThey were once healthy AFL footballers. Now, these high-profile concussion victims are at the centre of a multi-million dollar insurance stoush. Jay Clark has the details. Jay ClarkChief football writer @ClarkyHeraldSun 5 min read August 16, 2025 - 5:00AM News Sport Network Three of footy’s most high-profile concussion victims are at the centre of a multi-million dollar insurance stoush amid claims they have been unfairly delayed. Financial watchdog ASIC has begun inquiries on insurance giant Zurich for making three former AFL players – Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw and ex-Magpie Nathan Murphy and ex-Crow and Pie Paul Seedsman – wait more than one year for their concussion payouts. In a deepening of the AFL’s concussion crisis, the Herald Sun can reveal the trio have been left in limbo for more than 12 months as part of a delay which has caused increasing mental health concerns for the players and their families. Despite being medically retired by an independent expert AFL concussion panel, the players have been forced to fight for money and have been subject to “tactics” including the use of online data collection to track their lifestyles, according to their specialist insurance advisor Adriana Oreskov. The players’ complaints have been raised with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which has been provided with extensive material and evidence relating to the three players’ payout waits. Pending assessment, the financial regulator could take action against Zurich which remains a major sponsor of Melbourne where favourite son Brayshaw, 29, won a premiership in 2021 and played 167 games between 2015-2023. The three players are pursuing a personal insurance claim with Zurich which is separate to their six-figure club contract payouts. Australian law requires insurance suppliers to act honestly, fairly, and reasonably in all dealings with policyholders. ASIC confirmed on Friday it was aware of the AFL players’ concussion complaint. “ASIC is aware of concerns raised by AFL players in relation to insurance claims with Zurich and will assess relevant information that may come to our attention as part of our normal operations,” an ASIC spokesperson said. Jon Ralph believes It's up to the AFL to invest in concrete safeguards for concussion at a grassroots level. “In line with our normal processes we are unable to comment further.” Oreskov, who is the managing director of OSE Insurance and is advising the trio, said the significant delays without legitimate justification had been harrowing for the players and put them at further risk. These practices appear to be systemic rather than isolated, raising serious concerns of non-compliance with both statutory obligations and the Life Insurance Code of Practice. “Such conduct causes ongoing financial and emotional hardship to players, undermines trust in the industry, and warrants immediate regulatory scrutiny.” It is a delicate situation for Melbourne Football Club as Zurich remains a major partner of the Demons after re-signing last year. As part of the claims, the insurer must make detailed assessments of the players’ potential cognitive impairments from on-field hits and brain injuries sustained over their careers. The players have been subject to full neurological assessments after being advised by the AFL’s independent concussion panel to medically retire from all levels of contact sport. Zurich can also test cases as part of an internal and external dispute resolution process, delaying payouts. But the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has already recommended Zurich payout one of the player’s claims and backdate interest on the payment to September 9, 2024. The verdict was delivered on July 8 this year on the grounds the player’s symptoms had a “significant impact” on his daily life. The AFCA recommendation stated “a review of the information indicates the complainant met the policy terms and a TPD benefit should be paid”. VFL club Southport Sharks recently found out what BrainEye is all about – the new weapon in the battle against concussion, starting at the grassroots level. Seedsman, 33, has previously revealed the devastating impacts on his life since his career-ending concussion, saying he was at times “in agony” amid the frequent “headaches, nausea and dizziness”. “I haven’t been able to work for three years,” Seedsman said on ABC earlier this year. “Every day I’m symptomatic, it just (depends) on the severity and longevity of it. Football’s concussion crisis is the biggest problem facing the game with the AFL bracing for class actions which could cost the code more than $1 billion in compensation over claims of historical negligence. Last week, former Western Bulldog Aiden O’Driscoll, 20, who retired without playing an AFL game due to one horrific pre-season blow to the head, told the Herald Sun he had struggled in the aftermath of his retirement. “It is a tough one to swallow because of the mental health side of things, to be honest,” O’Driscoll said. “That has been a big factor. I have been struggling with that a lot, at times.” Former Swan and St Kilda big man Paddy McCartin, ex-Bulldog and Brisbane Lion Marcus Adams and former Demon and Sun Kade Kolodjashnij received significant payouts last year. McCartin in 2019 said “I’m sort of just a shell of a person that I was” due to his on-field brain injuries and battle with sensitivity to light and sound and sleeplessness. “I’ve sort of lost my footy identity a little bit, but then also my identity as a person as well, just because I can’t do stuff,” McCartin said. Last year, the Herald Sun revealed Zurich introduced a blanket concussion exclusion for new clients, angering the football industry. Senior figures including leading player manager and TGA/TLI boss Tom Petroro said it was a blow for the game. “To have this taken away is disappointing in the sense that what is there to protect our players?” Petroro said last year. Zurich also sponsors the AFL Coaches’ Association’s ‘Tackle your Feelings’ program, a mental health initiative designed to help support the league’s coaching staff. The insurer this month posted a group operating profit of $4.2 billion for the financial year. Zurich said in a statement: “In order to protect the privacy and confidentiality of our customers, Zurich does not comment on the specifics of individual cases or claims. “All cases are assessed individually in accordance with Zurich’s standard claims process and relevant policy terms, which may include consideration of available evidence and could involve engaging an Independent Medical Expert (IME) to undertake an objective assessment.” Brayshaw retired in February last year after scans showed microscopic changes in his brain following his last hit in the 2023 qualifying final loss to Collingwood. At last year’s Brownlow Medal count, Brayshaw delivered a heartbreaking speech about the challenge of starting a new chapter post-football. Angus Brayshaw gave a heartfelt toast and touching speech to the retiring class of 2024. “The absence of football has left a very deep void. Days that were planned to the minute and filled with purpose need to be replaced. And in time, they will be,” Brayshaw said. “Football is all consuming, no matter how long your career was, how successful it was, or even how well you prepared for the next stage.

We can agree to disagree on the semantics as we can our views on this. All good. I have my beliefs and values and tend to be very strong in articulating them. It’s kind of my full time job to advocate for people who are let down by systems or marginalised—and I’m not just saying that, it is literally my job. So, I’ll never apologise for what I believe. We are both allowed our opinions—they just happen to be different. We’ll never agree but can be respectful about it. My husband is about 10 years older than me and believe me, we’ve had these same discussions. He’s come around after us being together for 25 years. And also, his world view (and his family’s) was challenged significantly when my nephew came out. His own father stopped speaking to him. It was awful. But that’s what it took for my husband to get it.

Thank you. I hadn’t looked that far into it, just into the decriminalisation. It’s actually surprising that SA was the first to decriminalise and the last to abolish gay panic as a defense.

I finally found a paywall thing that works all the time. The article ie speculative but here’s the key points: -Beveridge needs a May type (would probably prefer Lever even with a disappointing 2025– bc he’s younger I assume) -Quote from article: “May is 33 and didn’t exactly do himself any favours over the last few rounds where he played like he was 63 but would the carrot of a joining a contender – who desperately needs height, experience and mongrel in its key defensive post – revitalise the two-time All-Australian?” -won’t move Naughton down back bc he’s performed well as a forward this year and Lobb’s “needs the freedom of being an interceptor” -JSOS also linked to the Dogs, but not what they need. It’s a longer article but as I said, it’s pretty speculative.

If you read what I wrote, I’m not saying people I personally knew were bullied because they identified as LGBTIQ+. I said that people who do identify that way were afraid of the reaction they’d get if they came out. However, you may never have witnessed it, nor did I at school but believe me it happened. There are quite a few peer reviewed research articles in regard to this. Just because you didn’t see it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Also, people who identify as LGBTIQ+ also faced criminal penalties for their sexual preference. South Australia was the first to decriminalise in the late 70’s with Tassie not doing so until 1997. This sends a message.

The victim may not be who the slur was directed at, but there are victims. From the reactions to this post we see people hurt by it. There’re more than likely young people who are afraid to be their most authentic self because of fear that they won’t be accepted. I could go on

Sorry, I’m not one to get involved in controversy on the web with people I don’t know. But, when you question where it will all end, hopefully it ends with getting rid of these homophobic slurs—regardless of who they are being made to. That kind of language and is appalling—particularly because it is historically one of the most derogatory slurs made at gay men in particular. The impact of the word doesn’t just stop because it’s aimed at someone that is heterosexual. It reinforces a culture where LGBTIQ+ people feel demeaned, unsafe, or othered. Also, consideration to young people (actually all people) that language like that is ok. I highly doubt that there are zero gay players in the AFL—but why would they ever be public with it when this is the culture. And playing footy is Rankine’s job. If I walked around my workplace making homophobic slurs in “the heat of the moment”, I’d still be in a ton of trouble. I’m not young and remember when this type of language was used regularly and I also remember the impact it had on people. I graduated high school in 1986 and I would have said that I didn’t know a single person who was not heterosexual. Turns out, my best friend from high school—and still to this day, is a Lesbian and she’s married to a woman and have 2 beautiful children. There were plenty of LGBTIQ+ kids I went to school with or hung out with—but admitting that would have made their lives 100x harder. So, that’s why I feel even just saying things like that need to be addressed. We are better than that. And language is the start. I know you said that after mentioning another player telling someone they’ll kill them is also not acceptable. Families of murder victims won’t want to hear that as you said. But as a person who has family members who are not heterosexual and lots of friends as well, I feel disgusted and worried when I hear language like this being used.

Sounds about right :)

Interesting on that—I read the news of him leaving late last night and it was something with Kane Cornes. Cornes was effusively praising him and basically telling all clubs that Chocco has his phone on and is open to work. I know he coached him, but it felt weird to see all that coming from him… I’ve not been here when he was playing so all I’ve seen is his shock jock side. https://www.sen.com.au/news/2025/08/20/afl-2025-melbourne-head-of-development-mark-choco-williams-sacked

As others have said, thank you for sharing these reports all year. I’ve read them all and look forward to them.

That was a quote from an article on Code Sports. And I agree with your comment on Collingwood doing anything for leverage.

You’re correct and my apologies for my comments. I was reading the thread and responded not even thinking of the topic. Sorry about that

Not 100% sure, but I did find this in a Code Sport article: The Crows were to present their case to the league as part of their response to the incident. It is understood the Crows informed the AFL’s integrity department after becoming aware of the incident where Rankine called a Collingwood player a f----t on Saturday night. Players from both sides were aware of the comment by Sunday, with the Pies not involved in escalating the complaint.