AFLPA boss Paul Marsh on club doctors, State of Origin and more of the AFL’s biggest issues
The AFLPA boss says there will be a shift in how club doctors handle players after Christian Petracca’s treatment. Plus more on the illicit drugs code, third party deals and other big issues.
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AFLPA boss Paul Marsh says club doctors will immediately start making more conservative calls with players with suspected rib or internal injuries this season as the player union and league review Christian Petracca’s King’s Birthday treatment.
Marsh returned from a three-month sabbatical last year to recharge his batteries after a bruising round of negotiations with the AFL that eventually secured a massive pay rise for players.
But as the 2025 season kicks off there are no shortage of topics on Marsh’s agenda.
Despite two AFL-linked reviews clearing the Demons of error he wants upgrades to current policies before a life is lost after Petracca came perilously close after internal damage caused by Darcy Moore’s knee.
A new injury and hardship fund is about to be launched in April, with 50-80 star players also about to share in a $7 million marketing fund per season ($35 million across five years) if they provide fair value promoting AFL sponsors.
And with a softening international sports broadcast market - and the league’s $4.5 billion broadcast revenue set for the next seven years - the players will have to help grow the revenue pool if they are to secure a big fat pay rise when the CBA expires in 2027.
Marsh sat down with this mastehead to provide updates on footy’s key issues ahead of the AFLPA AGM next Tuesday.
THE REVIEW INTO CHRISTIAN PETRACCA’S KING’S BIRTHDAY INCIDENT.
Two reviews from the AFL and club doctors both found that Melbourne’s treatment of Petracca was acceptable despite some delays as he waited for an ambulance at the MCG, then was eventually transferred to a second Melbourne hospital before he was diagnosed with a lacerated spleen.
Marsh says a player shouldn’t have to die before the league updates its medical policies.
“That is the motive and it’s real. That is the headline of that issue and we nearly got to that point. I am not pointing fingers here but it’s a system issue. What could have been done better. Part of our job is to keep asking those questions,” he said.
“We have agreed to a joint review with the AFL. We worked closely with Christian and he’s in a position where he is very keen to focus on his footy but how do we deal with this type of issue going forward with these serious contact issues.
“Is the approach as good as it could be? We aren’t looking for blood, but how do we make the game safer off the back of what was nearly a catastrophic incident?
“Players do rely on the medical experts to make these calls (about going back on) and we don’t under-estimate their difficulty of their job but I think a more conservative approach is important and I think we will see a bit more of a conservative approach to this sort of issue going forward.”
STATE OF ORIGIN FOOTBALL
The AFLPA has long been an advocate for the kind of International Rules and State of Origin contests that will grow the AFL’s revenue pool, which will see a proportion of that revenue flow on to players.
Marsh says scarcity is important with representative games and says AFL coaches understandably are hesitant about allowing the game’s stars to play given the injury risk.
“The opportunities in a revenue sharing model is how do we keep working with the league to keep finding new opportunities like the Gather Round. We were right in the middle of that.
“We are talking about State of Origin and International rules. We have to try those things because the international broadcast market rights are softening a bit, which is a concern for every sport. We have to keep thinking about innovation,” he said.
“The broad view is the players would love to play State of Origin but it wouldn’t necessarily be an every-year thing. It’s one of those things like the Indigenous All Stars where you would want to have it every few years so a player feels as though they could play it at least once in their career.
“If it became an every-year thing you would see a number of players not playing.
“Even talking to the clubs their view would be that if we lost a player during one of those games then the AFL should compensate us for the loss of the players.”
That compensation could include a salary-cap exemption or even an extra list spot given the game would likely be in February.
THE ILLICIT DRUGS CODE
The Herald Sun revealed on Tuesday the AFL and player union were at a standstill on their talks on a new deal while the AFLPA waits for clarity on how the names of 51 players were handed to Sports Integrity Australia officials to test for performance enhancing drugs.
Marsh maintains the policy has never been about sanctioning, which raises the question of why there has been a strikes-based model in place for decades.
He says the small group of players who others would categorise as ratbags is not growing year-on-year.
“There are three groups of players. The ones who have made a poor decision, typically not taken an illicit drug before, and they will be identified, they will be spoken to by the club doctor or AFL doctor and it scares them and there isn’t repeated behaviour.
“You have players at the other end of the spectrum who have genuine issues and they are engaged with and we have seen some big success stories of players in really challenging times who come out the other side.
“The more challenging group is those who might not want to change behaviour, and we are putting our focus into that group.
“That is where the sanctioning bit potentially is a stick if you have to use it. It’s not our preferred method. But if you have a group of players who don’t want to change there has to be something (in the code) there for them.
“From the information we have got it’s a small group but we also maintain the policy in its current state is actually able to deal with that.
“There is a clause in the policy which allows a club doctor to escalate an approach to that type of player.”
THIRD PARTY DEALS
The new marketing fund that Marsh has put into place - borrowing from a similar pool he put in place during his time as cricket’s union boss - will allow star players to earn money working for AFL club sponsors.
Between 50-80 AFL and AFLW players will be able to work for a pool of $7 million annually from AFL sponsors but will have to provide fair value for their work.
As the AFL audits four clubs including Geelong and Port Adelaide over third-party deals, Marsh believes it should be easier to access third-party reviews.
The one caveat is that he realises the AFL’s power clubs have more sponsors prepared to stump up third-party deals for players.
The AFLPA and AFL are currently working on a competitive balance review that has identified 15 factors including cost of living, travel and size of club which show some clubs are a long way ahead of others in those factors.
So his solution is nuanced to take in limits on how many third-party deals a club can have.
“One of the big issues we talk about is transitioning out of the game. If you look at this on the big picture level then players having relationships with corporate organisations is only going to help them from a transition perspective.
“And we would like to see this made easier for the players. We acknowledge that some of the bigger clubs have an advantage in terms of who they can connect players up with.
“So we would like to see it freed up a bit. But maybe a club might only have X number of partners that a club can connect players with.
“It’s a broader number of players than it currently is. It doesn’t always have to be about earning additional money. What are the levels of assistance a club and its partners can offer a player from an employment perspective with transition, which is a bloody difficult challenge.”
Marsh says the AFLW is a huge growth opportunity and has urged the league to play double-headers, AFLW games at premium venues and trial a Rivalry Round across the men’s pre-finals bye.
“We are open to trying things and then binning what doesn’t work and continuing what does. We need to try some double-headers. There is a real opportunity and we put a Rivalry Round to the AFL in the week between the end of the men’s home-and-away season and the first final. Play the best games at the best venues and see what support we get. Play the Derbies that weekend, play the best Victorian teams against each other, maybe a double or triple header.”
FINES
The AFLPA received a concession from the AFL that first offence fines under the AFL’s MRO guidelines would drop to only $1500 ($1000 for a guilty plea) over summer.
Then Jai Newcombe and Toby Greene were both slugged $10,000 ($6250 for a guilty plea) over opening round incidents because it was at least their third recent offence.
Marsh says the player union had lobbied for second and third-offence fines to also drop but will continue fighting that battle.
“Players hate the fines and they are handed out way too easily. It’s an area of great contention amongst the playing group. We pushed for not just the first fine but the subsequent fines to be reduced and we will keep having those conversations,” he said.
“It’s a very punitive approach to things that are pretty low level for the people who put on the show every week. It’s something I know the captains spoke to the AFL about at the captain’s day last week and we will keep talking about it.”
MARSH TALKS HARDSHIP FUND
Footy’s retired players will share in a $55 million injury and hardship fund starting next month which will see players with serious life-altering injuries securing payouts of more than $500,000.
AFL player union boss Paul Marsh told this masthead after protracted negotiations the AFLPA would in April reveal details of a fund helping players battling concussion-based issues and spinal injuries who are unable to work.
It means players on AFL lists from 2017 onwards who had not played an official AFL game and were shut-out of many health benefits from the player union will now have access to a full range of AFLPA care.
Marsh admits that there is not a bottomless pool of money but the $11 million fund-per-season over five years is a huge lift on what started as a $250,000 per season allowance as recently as 2016.
“We are telling the industry and players we are looking at an April launch and it’s going to be a really significant improvement for our members,” he said.
“We are going to have a really significant new benefit which is the serious injury benefit. This is for the player who has an injury that is so bad that their working life is impacted. “Concussions, spinal nerve damage, those types of things. So there will be a pretty significant payment that sits around that.”
Asked if the cap would be around $500,000 for that payment, which does not limit future help, Marsh replied: “We are still working through it with the AFL. It might be a little bit more than that, but it will be a significant benefit. If a player has had their life seriously impacted by footy, then it’s appropriate.”
The new fund will not be limited to any generation of players, with the AFLPA to launch a new preventive screening initiative for past players including blood tests and skin cancer checks in Gather Round.
The fund, which current players set aside as part of their most recent pay deal, also includes career-ending injury payouts, a hardship fund, a lifetime healthcare program with $10,000 payments for surgeries and total and permanent disability insurance.
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