Updated ,first published
The AFL admitted Elijah Hollands should have been taken off the field earlier than he was when he suffered a mental health episode in the Blues’ round six clash with the Magpies, citing visual cues, match performance data and knowledge of his personal condition.
The Blues were fined $75,000 for bringing the game into disrepute and league chief executive Andrew Dillon expressed hope on Tuesday that Hollands would still return to football. But he said the league’s investigation could not definitively rule out the role of substances in Hollands’ episode, and insisted its findings depended on what officials could see at night.
An AFL source familiar with the situation confirmed that the Blues were accused of bringing the game into disrepute and not under the healthy playing rule because it was more difficult to uphold the charges that Hollands was unwell, despite being diagnosed with a period of mental health.
“Bringing the game into disrepute” did not identify the people involved. As Dillon said during his press conference, “These results have been made against the Carlton Football Club as a whole, not against any individual.”
The allegations, notably, did not question the character of anyone in Carlton’s medical team, who were strongly defended by the Blues.
“What we’ve been able to find out is based on those things – visual cues and performance data. Other information, I can’t do that right now,” Dillon said.
That body of evidence – rather than any other moment – formed the backbone of the AFL’s conclusion that Carlton would have taken early action when Hollands struggled in the match against Collingwood at the MCG.
Simply put: the signs were there, and they added up.
“Based on visual cues, performance data and an understanding of Elijah’s individual situation, he should have been removed from the game earlier than he was,” Dillon said.
But in a carefully worded statement from the Blues later on Tuesday, they appeared to avoid being entirely blamed for the situation.
“On 23 April, the club provided the AFL with detailed, factual information about the circumstances surrounding Elijah Hollands and the club’s round six match.
“This presentation made clear the club’s position that it supports its people, who are respected professionals with great integrity, and who work with real care for all the players and staff who represent the football club.
“Today the league decided that the decision to remove Hollands from the field should have come earlier than the 20 minute mark of the final quarter.
“The club will make a $75,000 donation to Headspace, a national youth mental health foundation that provides early mental health services to young people.
“The club understands the public’s desire for more context to be provided on this matter, however it will not be able to disclose sensitive and personal information.
“Furthermore, it would be inappropriate to provide additional public comment while WorkSafe’s investigation continues.”
When asked about Hollands’ future, Dillon said the return to football would be the player’s own, but added the AFL would support such a return.
“He’s a young man with a lot of life ahead of him … I hope he plays again, if that’s what he wants to do,” Dillon said.
It is the clearest explanation of how the AFL reached the result that has hung over the competition for the past fortnight – that Carlton’s response on the night fell short, not because of one missed call, but because so many indicators were not acted on quickly enough.
Through the club, Carlton CEO Graham Wright said the Blues’ support for Hollands “is based in part on a genuine concern and understanding for him, and the challenges he has been going through”.
“Our club stands in unwavering support of its medical and wellness staff, who continue to conduct themselves with the highest professionalism, integrity, and genuine care for all our players and staff,” Wright added.
“We accept the results with the intention of enabling all parties to move forward, while continuing to ensure the health and well-being of our people remains a priority.
“While our process with the AFL has been concluded, throughout this time we have not lost focus on making sure Elijah and his family continue to get all the help and care they need. The message of support our club has received on their behalf has been significant, and we thank everyone who has taken the time to do so.
“Elijah is taking the time necessary to prioritize his health and well-being right now, and he will continue to do so with our full support.”
The league’s head of health, safety and football operations Laura Kane said the case had exposed a major gap in their match-day systems: while physical injuries are governed by strict, well-understood protocols, mental health incidents remain more fluid – and, in this case, difficult to control in real time.
“While our physical trauma protocols are robust and well understood, mental health presentations can be varied and complex,” Kane said.
“What happened during the game was something we haven’t seen before … and it shouldn’t have been left to that moment.”
The investigation, which was technically run by Carlton but overseen by Kane and the AFL, stopped short of identifying individual wrongdoing within the club, instead framing the breach as a collective failure in the club’s matchday environment.
The $75,000 fine, which will be awarded to Headspace, was announced Tuesday with more details on how the league evaluated the incident and why it landed on its findings.
Dillon confirmed the AFL were comfortable Hollands was allowed to start the match, but he drew a firm line on what happened next.
“We realized that he shouldn’t have been on the field as long as he was,” he said.
The AFL declined to release specific medical information, including the reality of the Dutch situationciting confidentiality. But Dillon made it clear the investigation relied heavily on what was seen by those inside the game.
“There was a wider audience that saw that – the visual symptoms that Andrew mentioned,” Kane added, suggesting concerns spread beyond the emergency medical team.
The case has quickly become one of the most pressing welfare issues of the AFL’s modern era, not just for what unfolded at the MCG, but for what it revealed about the limits of existing systems.
Kane said the incident would now lead to a major overhaul of mental health governance across the AFL, with the league announcing a series of reforms designed to standardize how clubs respond to such a situation.
These include the establishment of a dedicated AFL health and welfare management committee, the mandating of full-time psychologists in AFL and AFLW programs, and the development of industry-wide standards on “psychological playing equity”.
The league will also review the football department’s player arrangements as they relate to healthcare workers – acknowledging that funding, while deemed adequate for Carlton, remains a major pressure.
“We have to make sure we have the right resources to support our players, and we will go through that,” Kane said.
The AFL also plans to raise awareness of mental health among club staff and convene a roundtable with media organisations, including the Black Dog Institute and the Danny Frawley Centre, in the run-up to the Spud Game.
“This has to be about care, transparency and action – and this is bigger than one club and one night,” Kane said.
The AFL stopped criticizing individuals at Carlton, a decision Dillon argued was consistent with the nature of the breach.
“It’s a shared responsibility, and that’s the best place for it,” he said.
The league also confirmed Carlton had sufficient resources to manage the situation, both before the game and on the day of the match – a conclusion that focused on decision-making under pressure.
“Carlton have had the resources to support Elijah … ahead of the round six match,” Kane said.
“Did they have enough on game day? Yes, they did.”
Dillon agreed a separate WorkSafe investigation is ongoing, but will not confirm how the process was initiated.
The AFL boss admitted there were “mixed views” internally when reflecting on the saga, but said the league’s priority was to respond in a way that improved the system, rather than punishing the results.
“When you have an event like this, it’s how you respond and how you get better,” Dillon said.
That response, he said, must also ensure the game remains a place where players feel safe to seek help — not a place where mental health challenges become a barrier to participation.
“Mental health is a challenge that the entire community faces,” Kane said.
“We have an opportunity to be advocates for what makes mental health.”
Dutch had a mental health session on the pitch against the Magpies on April 16. He was later hospitalized.
Carlton, after a thorough internal investigation, submitted to the AFL their review into the decision to allow Hollands to play against Collingwood. The Blues’ view is that decisions were made during the unprecedented situation in good faith, with Hollands’ health and well-being at the forefront.
Carlton coach Michael Voss he made a sympathetic defense of the club’s employeesand Blues engaged specialist workplace lawyers to shed light on the complex issue.
The AFL also intends to use its findings to assist in addressing similar issues in the future.
Stay tuned for the best AFL news in the country. Subscribe to the Real Footy newsletter.
Sam McClure is an award-winning AFL journalist and broadcaster.Connect through X or email address.
Jake Niall is a Walkley Award-winning sports journalist and senior AFL writer for The Age.Connect through X or email address.
