Sayers court stoush collides with footy finals

This week, the footy boss, along with his head firefighter, Sharon McCrohan , and chief legal mind Stephen Meade are managing the fallout of sexual assault allegations involving the Sydney Swans.

The Swans sit close to the top of the ladder, so if the players who have reportedly been spoken to, including superstar Isaac Heeney , are stood aside pending investigations, the footy finals will be compromised.

Also under way is the AFL’s investigation of the handling of the Geelong concussion waiver crisis. That’s now in the hands of independent arbiter Peter James , KC, who has been engaged by the AFL to opine on the matter.

His probe will include the conduct of AFL chair Craig Drummond , who was heading up the Cats board at the time defender Jake Kolodjashnij signed to release his club from any legal risk over future concussions.

CBD can now reveal the AFL’s 2026 finals series, which begins at the end of this month, is set to be further tainted by what is expected to be another messy legal battle.

This time it will be in the Victorian Supreme Court from September 4 as former Carlton chair Luke Sayers battles his ex-wife, Cate , who has sued him for defamation following publication of a photograph of Sayers’ penis on his X account in January last year.

The businessman wants to keep material relating to the league’s investigation into the scandal secret. The battle over what material can be subject to legal privilege is set to take place over two days. We can hardly wait.

The triumphant Logie Awards appearance of one of Australia’s most beloved personalities, Magda Szubanski, after battling cancer was TV’s most closely guarded secret.

Only a handful of people knew of Szubanski’s involvement in Sunday’s telecast, where she presented the Gold Logie in character as Sharon Strzelecki .

In keeping with the “stealth mode” approach, on call sheets and whiteboards she was noted only as “special guest”.

Meanwhile, CBD has been told, those in the deep inner circle of the production referred to her by the code name “Toiger” – the famously mangled Kath & Kim pronunciation of “Tiger”.

Szubanski didn’t take part in the show’s rehearsal on Saturday and nor did she stay at the hotel where special guests of TV Week were residing.

She arrived backstage at The Star in Sydney, entering discreetly via the loading dock, 20 minutes before joining Logie’s host Robert Irwin on stage about 11.15pm for what was her first public event since she revealed her health crisis in May 2025.

When she emerged dressed as Strzelecki, “the newest employee at Australia Zoo”, it was a genuine shock and emotional surprise for guests in the room and viewers.