Scott sorry for outburst at AFL employee, Smith apologises to photographer

Chris Scott sorry for outburst at AFL employee, Smith apologises to photographer

Angus Delaney, Peter Ryan

Geelong coach Chris Scott has apologised to a junior female AFL media official after an outburst which pushed her to tears.

Nine News reported that the incident occurred outside the media conference room at the MCG following Geelong’s qualifying final win over Brisbane six days ago.

Scott became aggressive while questioning the presence of an accredited media member at his post match press conference, causing the staffer to cry and prompting the coach to call her to apologise days later, according to Nine.

The AFL and Geelong have been contacted for comment.

Meanwhile, Cats star Bailey Smith has sent a text message apologising to News Corp photographer Alison Wynd after he verbally abused her at an open training session on Wednesday.

Smith had flipped the bird at Wynd when she was taking photos of him receiving treatment during the session before asking her to delete the photos. When she told him she was merely doing her job he told her she was doing a shit job. It was the second time he had targeted the photographer, who has 25 years experience and is well respected in the local community.

On Thursday morning, after 24 hours of criticism for his actions, Smith sent a text message to Wynd. The Cats confirmed Smith had apologised and hoped they could put the incident behind them. Wynd thanked him for acknowledging it was inappropriate and accepted the apology.

Smith joined Geelong from the Western Bulldogs at the end of last season and has had a series of incidents throughout 2025. However, he has played outstanding football winning the AFL Coaches Association Award and being among the favourites for the Brownlow Medal.

Former AFL umpire appears in court after Brownlow Medal betting probe

Hannah Kennelly
A former AFL umpire and three other men appeared at Melbourne Magistrates Court for the first time on Thursday morning, charged with various offences as part of a sports integrity investigation into suspicious betting on former Brownlow Medal counts.

In November 2022, former AFL umpire Michael Pell was arrested after allegedly leaking Brownlow Medal votes from specific matches of the 2022 season in one of the most serious integrity scandals to hit the league.

The investigation then widened into the 2021 season, when Pell was an emergency umpire.

On Thursday, Pell and three co-accused, William Forde, Mitch Lucas and Donovan Pell appeared in Melbourne Magistrates court for a filing hearing, charged with 102 offences between them.

Forde is facing 53 charges including using corrupt conduct for betting and obtaining financial advantage by deception, while Michael Pell faces six charges in relation to wagering on the 2021 Brownlow Medal, including use of corrupt conduct information for betting purposes.

The court was told the total fraud committed by the quartet was “about $300,000”.

Magistrate Brett Sonnet said the charges were serious and placed all four men on bail with conditions not to leave Australia.

All four men will return to court on October 22 for a committal hearing. The case could potentially be transferred to the County Court.

Pell, who began his umpiring career in the Essendon District Football League was only promoted to the AFL field umpires list for the start of the 2022 season, having officiated in one game the previous year when he was called into action as an emergency umpire.

He is no longer an umpire with the AFL.

The AFL has since introduced a $250 payout limit for round-by-round betting on the Brownlow Medal to avoid a repeat of the betting scandal.

Howe set for preliminary final return

Marc McGowan
Jeremy Howe expects to return from his adductor injury for Collingwood’s preliminary final next week against Brisbane or Gold Coast in a major boost for the Pies.

The star defender, who played in the grand final win over the Lions two years ago, sustained the setback in round 24 against Melbourne and missed last week’s qualifying final victory over Adelaide.

Beating the Crows earned Collingwood a week off, and placed less pressure on Howe, who believes “everything is aligning” for him to play in Saturday week’s preliminary final.

“I’m feeling very healthy, so the rehab process is going really well,” Howe told Nova FM.

“[My teammates] definitely helped me out in that space. It was an impressive performance by the lads. That’s the kind of style that we thought stacked up, and it was nice to get that for the first final.

“For me, it obviously buys me an extra week to get myself right and ready, and everything is on track so far, which I’m really pleased about.”

Howe said the Pies had a “massive” match simulation session planned for Friday night, but it was later confirmed that he remains on an individual program, and will not take part in the match simulation.

He added that his experience with far worse injuries, including his gruesome arm fracture in 2023, had helped him deal with this one.

“I’ve had some traumatic injuries in the past, so when you have smaller ones – little irritable injuries – as frustrating as they can be, you find ways to put a plan in front of you, and move on pretty quickly,” he said.

“Perspective plays a massive role. I feel like even since I’ve had kids, I’ve got priorities where I can be injured, but I still can’t mope around.

“I’ve got to get on with it, and I feel like I’ve been well looked after by the club. They’ve put me in a good place to get after it.”

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