An increase in AFL financial sanctions in 2024 has reportedly left players “furious,” with Port Adelaide star Zak Butters on pace to become the most fined player in league history.
While Toby Greene, 30, currently holds that title after racking up a massive $35,600 in fines across his career, Butters, just 23, is rapidly catching up with $29,375 worth of penalties.
And in numbers shown on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle, fines in 2024 ($282,500) have already well exceeded last year’s ($197,500) by $85,000 and are on track to be the most in a season since 2020.
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Herald Sun journalist Sam Landsberger reports that increase came “without consultation” with the AFL players association to cause uproar among the playing ranks.
“Spoken to a lot of players and they’re furious at the amount of fines the AFL is dishing out this year, it’s gone through the roof,” Landsberger said on Midweek Tackle.
“For incidental tripping and contact that’s been part of the game forever in a day and doing no harm to anyone else.
“Toby Greene is clearly the most fined player of all time, Zak Butters is 23 years old and about to overtake him.
“By the time Zak Butters is 30, he would’ve got $60,000 worth of fines. It’s absolutely ridiculous and causing a lot of angst in the playing fraternity.
“Toby is fine, Zak Butters is going to shoot past him – he’s got six years and only $5,00o to make up!”
On Greene and Butters’ combined tab of just under $65,000, fellow Herald Sun Lauren Wood journalist quipped: “That’s a couple of new cars.”
Colleague Scott Gullan meanwhile argued the AFL would be simply telling players to stop their expensive habit.
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“I’ll be devils advocate and be the AFL: ‘We’re sending a message boys, stop doing silly stuff. These are the rules, you’re getting fined heavily, we’ll pull it back if you stop doing it’,” Gullan argued in Midweek Tackle.
To which Landsberger responded: “But was it brought in to correct a particular behaviour or raise revenue?
“Some players would be better off financially missing a week of match payments than playing the next week and getting fined. That’s how ridiculous it is right now.”
In numbers from an AFL Media story last month, Butters had been charged 15 times across his 109 AFL games across six seasons, becoming the 11th player in AFL history to reach $20,000 in fines – joining Greene, Jy Simpkin ($24,250) and Dustin Martin ($22,150) among active players.
According to that report, Greene, who’s played more than double the amount of games of Butters with 230 appearances, is the only player in AFL history to have copped $30,000 worth of levies across 25 charges including 15 games worth of suspensions.
MOST FINED PLAYERS IN AFL HISTORY (with AFL Media) [* still active]
*Toby Greene ($35,600)
*Zak Butters ($29,375)
Nathan Jones ($27,750)
Ben Cunnington ($25,900)
Damien Hardwick ($24,700)
*Jy Simpkin ($24,250)
Mitch Robinson ($22,500)
Dale Thomas ($22,400)
*Dustin Martin ($22,150)
Alastair Lynch ($22,000)
Brendan Fevola ($21,600)
Source Agencies
