Geelong coach Chris Scott has fired back at allegations the Cats broke AFL rules regarding third-party payments to players, amid reports the club is facing a hefty fine.

The Cats and Port Adelaide have been audited this year by the league, with the club alleged to have failed to lodge several deals, including an AFLW player receiving a car.

It has been reported the Cats could be hit with multiple five-figure fines over the discrepancies, but Scott isn’t convinced with what he has been hearing in the media.

“I haven’t heard anything that suggests that media commentary is accurate,” Scott said.

“I’d first seek to get to the truth of it rather than believing what you hear in the media at face value.

“But I can’t refute it necessarily either because it’s not really part of my remit. It’s a question better directed at our administration.”

The Cats have long attracted rumours and conspiracy theories around third-party payments, with claims of real estate benefits to senior players in order to retain them and woo star recruits without going over the AFL salary cap.

Those allegations have intensified in recent months, with former Western Bulldog Bailey Smith joining the club amid rumours Cats sponsor Cotton On – who have a branding agreement with Smith – offered significant incentives for him to make the move.

Scott, too, has been questioned after being appointed as Chief of Leadership and Performance at Cats sponsor Morris Finance in the off-season, with the AFL reportedly forcing part of his salary for the role to come under the Cats’ soft cap for football department spending.

Former Docker faces court over domestic violence allegations

Former Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley has appeared in court after being charged with nine counts of domestic violence.

The Perth Magistrates Court heard on Thursday that the 41-year old, who played 188 games with the Dockers from 2003-2015 and a further eight with Essendon in 2016, assaulted ex-girlfriend Lauren Dunn at her apartment in Claremont on Tuesday.

Crowley is alleged to have refused to leave before throwing her down, repeatedly slammed her head on the floor and smothered her with a pillow until she lost consciousness.

He was arrested at Perth train station and hit with charges including impeding Ms Dunn’s breathing by applying pressure to her neck and threatening her.

Crowley was also charged with unlawful use of a computer, having taken Ms Dunn’s phone and laptop to discover an email between her and another man, which is alleged to have prompted the assault.

Crowley is due to appear in court on July 24, and is expected to contest the charges.

A Life Member at the Dockers, Crowley at his peak was regarded as the best tagger in the game, winning Fremantle’s Doig Medal as the club best and fairest in 2012 and appearing in their maiden grand final appearance in 2013.

‘Not personal’: Dillon explains major AFL restructure

AFL chief Andrew Dillon insists there’s nothing personal in the demotion of Laura Kane while brushing off fierce criticism of the umpiring standard.

Dillon has gone on the Friday hustings after his reshuffle of the AFL executive cost Indigenous identity Tanya Hosch her role and pushed Kane down the pecking order.

Kane’s job has been split, with the 34-year-old no longer overseeing key football areas.

“It was a big, big role,” Dillon told SEN radio on Friday.

“Decisions affect people but they’re not personal.

“It’s actually about what’s the right thing for the AFL, not just for now, because the AFL’s in an incredible position at the moment … we have now got a structure that actually allows us to continue to be successful for the next three to five years and that was the thinking.”

In a separate interview on ABC Radio, Dillon rejected the notion that unconscious gender bias was a factor in Kane’s dealings with clubs and subsequent demotion.

“It’s not a gender thing,” he said.

“Laura has broken down a lot of barriers. She is an incredibly talented administrator.”

Hosch’s position of inclusion and social policy manager will no longer exist as a separate role once the first Indigenous member of the AFL executive leaves on June 6.

Instead, the existing corporate affairs portfolio will include First Nations engagement and inclusion.

Asked about Hosch’s departure, Dillon said on SEN: “What we will have now is more voices and more leaders all across the industry in all of the work that Tanya was doing.”

The AFL boss also launched in defence of the standard of umpiring this season which has attracted great scrutiny.

Dillon described the umpiring fraternity as “incredibly talented … great decision-makers”.

“You strive for perfection but you know you’re now going to get that in umpiring,” he said.

“We don’t get it with the players either.

“But you have to do to is get as close as you can and that is a continued work in progress.

“You can pick out isolated incidents of any game and say that it’s battling.

“What you have to do is actually look at all nine games over the weekend … picking isolated incidents isn’t the way that you judge the umpires.”

Dillon said the system of four field umpires, which some pundits believe has created inconsistency, would prove its worth. 

“We’re a couple of seasons into the four umpires, it’s a work in progress,” he said.

“What it does have, it allows … umpires to be in better positions to make the calls. It’s less physically taxing on them.

“When we brought the four umpires in, we expanded the list so we have a number of umpires who are in the early parts of their career.

“So I think over the medium and longer term it’s going to be successful.”

(with AAP)