Geelong doctors Geoff Allen and Drew Slimmon resign on eve of pre-season

Geelong is facing the “extraordinarily difficult” task of replacing two of its seasoned sports medicos, who have sensationally resigned on the eve of the preseason.

Luke Dahlhaus is taken from the ground by Dr Geoff Allen. Picture: Dylan Burns

Geelong will start its AFL pre-season next week without experienced doctors Geoff Allen and Drew Slimmon, who both resigned from the club last week.

The Cats face the “extraordinarily difficult” task of ­replacing the seasoned sports medicos, while physiotherapists Mark Young and Hamish Macauley and head strength and conditioning coach Chris Dennis are also moving on.

The exodus comes as AFL clubs feel the squeeze on their football department budgets.

Allen has been in the role since 2005 and Slimmon ­started in 2011.

Both are well regarded in the medical industry, helping Geelong enjoy a dream run with injury this year.

It is understood AFL club doctors are facing a 20 per cent pay cut, but demands to cater for concussion, mental health, drug and alcohol and other protocols have increased.

Geoff Allen with James Podiadly after the 2011 grand final.

“The Essendon saga with all the governance associated with medication and supplements has put a big strain on the role,” Allen said.

“It’s one of those areas that you don’t realise how big a job it is until you stop doing it.

“It’s kind of nice not having to deal with all that kind of stuff on top of having a general practice down at Point Lonsdale, which is busy enough as it is.”

Slimmon said he quit to spend more time with his young family but acknowledged the “administrative ­demands” of the role had ­increased.

“That took up a bit of my time,” he said.

Allen collapsed with cardiac arrest before a Cats game at Football Park in 2010 but was saved by a defibrillator

He said he decided to step aside when Slimmon had reached his decision to move on.

Both travelled around the country this year as part of Geelong’s hub, leaving home for more than 100 days.

“We had a lot of time to think about it, talk about it and just decided ... you reach your use-by date as far as your relevance to the players,” Allen said.

Sports medicine expert Peter Larkins said medical teams were critical to success for AFL clubs but feared for the impacts of reduced wages.

Doctors at other clubs had recently stepped aside, and Larkins warned “there’s more to come”.

Dr Drew Slimmon (right) with Hamish Macauley. Picture: Michael Willson

“I don’t think the clubs or AFL should be compromising on reducing what they pay people to do the work, where they’re expected to keep ­million-dollar players on the park,” he said.

“It doesn’t make sense to me. People are getting paid less than they were four or five years ago for more work.

“This is not Geelong-­specific. This is across AFL clubs.”

Larkins said the toll of the season interstate had been immense, and said it would be “extraordinarily difficult” to replace the experience of Allen and Slimmon.

“Geelong, given the elite team that it is and the finals team it is, it needs the best people in the job,” he said.

“The combination of a good sports physician with a GP is a really high-valued combination, and where you’re going to get those to just jump up over the next week or so in the pre-season, I’ve got no idea.”

Geelong has started advertising for the doctor and physio positions.

It emerged in October that it had targeted former North Melbourne and Adelaide medico Steve Saunders as part of an off-field revamp.

The Cats first-to-fourth year players return on Monday.

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Originally published as Geelong doctors Geoff Allen and Drew Slimmon resign on eve of pre-season