Brown reaches out to Rankine; Stewart inspires Cats teammates; Khamis requests a trade to Carlton

Mitch Brown has revealed he reached out to Adelaide’s Izak Rankine after he was suspended for using a homophobic slur against a Collingwood player last month.

Brown, who played 94 games for West Coast from 2007 to 2016, recently became the first male AFL player to come out as bisexual. He said on The Imperfects podcast that his message to Rankine was to use the incident against the Magpies to make himself a better person.

“I don’t blame Izak Rankine – I would never point out an individual, it’s more than that,” Brown said on the podcast.

“I reached out to Izak Rankine… the reason why I reached out, I watched him on screen apologising for what he did… I can feel the hurt and heaviness on him.

“I just wanted to let him know it’s not his fault. He’s not a bad person… it may mean something.

“You’re still an amazing role model, and don’t forget that.

“What we want for our young people is to learn from our mistakes, don’t give up on feeling proud or being defined as the person [to] say the slur.”

Brown didn’t share Rankine’s response, but he again voiced his disappointment in some clubs not using such moments to push for change within the AFL landscape.

“He [Rankine] gets direct racism and non-direct systematic racism every single day of his life – the guy understands what it feels like,” Brown said.

“I didn’t want to let a good, positive role model [be] defined by one incident.

“What I am disappointed with is the culture in the system. What really affected me was [the idea] that I’m shaming clubs or making it about me… I was never relevant.

“It’s about safety within your community. Some football clubs missed that opportunity.”
- Roy Ward

Tom Stewart’s brave face to inspire Cats

Concussed Geelong defender Tom Stewart is doing everything possible to not let his grand final heartbreak impact his teammates as they try to win a second premiership in four years.

The five-time All-Australian and dual Cats club champion was subbed out of last Friday night’s preliminary final win over Hawthorn after crashing his head into the MCG surface while his arms were pinned in a Mabior Chol tackle.

As per league rules, Stewart was instantly ruled out of the grand final against reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions as he completes concussion protocols, including a minimum 12-day recovery period.

Chol received a three-match ban for his role in the incident that will delay his start to the 2026 season.

Geelong rallied from an early 21-point deficit to reach their seventh grand final since 2007, but will need to win it without Stewart, whom teammate Jack Bowes said was putting on a brave face despite his injury fate.

“He’s obviously a heart-and-soul player for us; someone whose impact on and off the field is [hard to measure]. It’s invaluable,” Bowes told this masthead.

“Just to see him walking in [to the club] today with a smile on his face and making sure that his situation isn’t bringing anyone else down is something I really admire about him. He’s obviously big shoes to fill, but from his point of view, he’s someone who just wants the team to do well.”

Stewart’s situation reignited debate around whether the AFL should switch the pre-finals bye to before the grand final to give concussed players a chance to recover in time.

Bowes said from a “reactive point of view” it would be good to have a pre-grand final bye.

Coach Chris Scott was of the same view after Friday night’s win, given this year’s circumstances, but said he was never a fan of the league’s reasoning for introducing the pre-finals bye.

Stewart’s unavailability means there will be at least one change for the Cats, with ruckman Rhys Stanley (hamstring) the obvious choice to return if he proves his fitness after missing both finals.

Stanley must get through Geelong’s main training session on Wednesday to be in contention, but Scott said after each finals victory that his preference was to have the 34-year-old big man in his side.

Stanley has played 18 matches this season, carrying the ruck load for most of the season, but the Cats used defenders Mark Blicavs and Sam De Koning in the ruck in his absence. Blicavs would be able to remain down back if Stanley came in.

Jed Bews, who was dropped for the qualifying final, could also be considered if Geelong want an extra defender, while Ollie Henry is a substitute option if Stanley is not picked.

The Lions have their own selection dilemmas, with Lachie Neale (calf) and Jarrod Berry (dislocated shoulder) under an injury cloud.

The Cats’ defensive structure held up without Stewart, but his importance to the team’s fortunes is illustrated in his intercepts resulting in a score almost a quarter of the time, which is the best percentage in the league this year.

De Koning backed his fellow defenders to fill the “big hole” that Stewart left, believing their selfless, team-oriented and systematic approach would serve them well.

“He’s a huge part of our team and our backline, and he adds so much leadership,” De Koning said.

“His ability to turn the ball over and get it going our way is second-to-none. We saw him go off, but were not really sure what was going on with him … [but] all the boys stood up and cemented the backline, and had that ruthless approach to finish the quarter without leaking too many goals.

“At quarter-time, we reset and attacked the rest of the game, knowing that anyone in our team can do the job when it’s their time.“
- Peter Ryan and Marc McGowan

Bulldogs’ Khamis requests trade to Carlton

Western Bulldogs utility Buku Khamis has told the club he wants to be traded to Carlton as he seeks more opportunities to play senior football.

The 25-year-old, who has played 41 matches since making his debut in 2021, attracted interest from the Blues, who are looking to bring in support for defensive pillar Jacob Weitering after losing free agent Jack Silvagni to St Kilda.

The Bulldogs are open to discussing a trade with Carlton, according to two competition sources with knowledge of the situation, but as a contracted player who adds depth to their list at either end of the ground, they are expected to drive a hard bargain before releasing Khamis.

Carlton have made it clear they will be active in this year’s trade period as they try to add speed and class to their line-up. They have said key forward Charlie Curnow is a required player, but the contracted forward is keen to make a fresh start at either Geelong, Gold Coast or Sydney.

Fremantle back-up ruckman Liam Reidy has already requested a trade to Carlton as he seeks more opportunities having fallen behind Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson in the Dockers’ line-up.

Khamis is a popular figure at the Bulldogs who has shown he belongs at the level in the past two seasons but has been unable to cement a place in the back line.
- Peter Ryan

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