Andrew Dillon says the AFL doesn’t need a stand down rule, will continue on case-by-case basis
Andrew Dillon has defended the AFL’s handling of Tanner Bruhn and lack of a mandated stand-down rule in the wake of AFLPA slamming the league.
AFL boss Andrew Dillon says the league will not mandate a stand down rule but will continue to rule players out on a case-by-case basis.
The league quietly stood down Geelong’s Tanner Bruhn for the entire 2025 season after he was he was charged with sexual assault for an incident in 2023.
The charges were dropped on Tuesday after it emerged that a key witness lied to police.
Dillon said the league was comfortable with its current process.
“The AFL has an ability to stand down but it is on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
“I think we start with AFL and AFLW players are absolute role models and I don’t think we need to have a set stand down rule.
“I think it is something that you have to have (the ability) in your armoury but it is not something that we would use often.”
Dillon said he would not go into “the detail of that” when asked if the league had stood down other players in the past.
“You can only make decisions with the information you have in front of you,” he said.
The league was slammed by the AFL Players’ Association for the move, describing it as “disproportionate” and “premature” regarding Bruhn, 23, who had to sit out the season.
Dillon said the league “can only make decisions with the information you have in front of you” but it would work with the AFLPA on a sanctioning framework going forward.
“The PA has their view, we worked closely with the AFLPA, Tanner’s management and the Geelong footy club during last year,” Dillon said.
“But with the suppression order in place it was something that we couldn’t convey publicly.
“That is something that we are working on with the players association (sanctioning framework).
“We see that on the field that tribunal guidelines are set in place and that works really well for our fans.
“We are working with the PA on a sanctioning framework to put guard rails around those, but it is something we believe we would not be using a lot.
“I think all you can do with this is make the decisions based on the information you do have
“The AFL does have a complex and complicated regulatory framework and we work really closely with the AFLPA on that.”
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Originally published as Andrew Dillon says the AFL doesn’t need a stand down rule, will continue on case-by-case basis
