Down at AFL House in Docklands, the code’s spin machine is stuck in malfunction. Partly of its own doing, but also because of the broader AFL administration’s litany of issues, overseen by chairman Richard Goyder and his inability to act decisively.

First, there was the incident on May 8, when play continued in a Collingwood match despite Magpie Lachie Schultz lying concussed on the ground. Worsened when the media team’s original statement on it turned out to be wrong, prompting two more contradictory releases in the next five days.