Banished Richmond duo Sydney Stack and Callum Coleman-Jones have apologised to the AFL and wider community for their drunken COVID-19 protocol breach on the Gold Coast.
But the fringe players’ careers hang in the balance, according to Stack’s manager Paul Peos, with cuts to AFL list sizes looming at the end of the season.
Stack, 20, and Callum Coleman-Jones, 21, were ousted from the Tigers’ Queensland hub after visiting a strip club and being involved in a drunken fight early on Friday morning.
They were both suspended for 10 matches by the AFL and the Tigers fined $100,000 for a second breach by members of their club travel bubble.
“I’m very sorry, understand the seriousness of it and can do nothing now but own the consequences,” Stack posted on Instagram on Saturday.
“I’ve let down the afl, the club I love, my teammates, coaches and staff, its members and the tiger army.
“I also have let down my family, my friends and all of those who have helped me along the way.
“To those who are supporting me at the moment, a huge thanks.
“I only hope going forward I can rebuild trust in me again.”
Coleman-Jones also released a statement on social media.
“I take full responsibility for what I have done and am extremely remorseful,” he posted.
“I have let a lot of people down, including the football club, the AFL, the Queensland government, my friends and family, and the wider community.
“I realise what I did was selfish and had the potential to jeopardise the continuation of the competition being played in Queensland.”
Stack, who was recruited by Richmond as a project player in early 2019 after being overlooked by every club at the draft, has played 26 games and is contracted for next season.
Coleman-Jones played his only senior match to date in 2019 and also has one more year left on his Tigers deal.
But AFL playing lists will be trimmed for 2021 as part of drastic league-wide cost-cutting measures and Peos on Saturday conceded the indiscretion could put the players’ careers in jeopardy.
“Any player that really has got any doubt is going to have a harder conversation to have,” Peos told ABC Perth on Saturday.
“Clubs have been able to persist in development to some degree and persist a bit with character to some degree when you’ve got 44 on your list.
“But if you’ve got a restricted number and you really need the majority of those boys being able to play in any given year, you need to take a group that’s going to be there for you and available for you (consistently).”
Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale initially said Stack and Coleman-Jones would be made to pay the $75,000 portion of the club’s fine directly resulting from their breach.
However, the AFL Players Association was quick to point out on Friday the code of conduct it struck with the AFL prevents clubs from adding extra penalties on top of the league’s sanctions.
“It’s pretty clear that the player is not responsible in relation to the fines part of it on the basis that they accept whatever sanctions are set down to them (by the AFL),” Peos said.