GEELONG is set to ditch its traditional Mad Monday celebrations after apologising for some controversial costumes and social media antics this week.
Star midfielder Bailey Smith made a series of Instagram posts from the Cats' Mad Monday function, following Geelong's 47-point Grand Final loss to Brisbane on Saturday.
Smith was dressed as Legends of the Fall character Tristan Ludlow, played by Brad Pitt, while skipper Patrick Dangerfield's own cowboy costume was a nod to the TV show Yellowstone.
Smith later posted a photo of himself and Dangerfield. In the caption, Smith referenced the movie Brokeback Mountain, which depicts a romantic relationship between two male cowboys, and wrote "this is what losing a granny does to ya".
Cats midfielder Max Holmes dressed up as veteran journalist Caroline Wilson, while Sam De Koning and Ollie Dempsey poked fun at rumours that the Cats were using third-party deals via long-time club sponsor Cotton On to pay their players. The pair arrived in an Aston Martin luxury sports car with a fake 'Cotton On' numberplate, and carrying brown paper bags.
Late on Wednesday, the Cats labelled the players' behaviour "a significant error of judgment".
"Geelong Football Club sincerely apologises for the offence caused following our end of season gathering on Monday," a club statement read.
"Certain costumes and associated social media posts were inappropriate and a significant error of judgment, and do not reflect our Team of All commitment.
"The club has decided future post season events will not continue in this current form, and we will take this moment to further educate our people on expectations and club and community standards."
Geelong's Mad Monday celebrations have become a renowned event in recent years, but future post-season get-togethers are set to be different.
Last year, the AFL handed down suspensions and fines to Greater Western Sydney players involved in an end-of-season function that involved sexist skits and inappropriate costumes.
The AFL's executive general manager of football performance, Greg Swann, said earlier he had spoken to Geelong CEO Steve Hocking and the Cats were dealing with the matter.
"We think the clubs are the best people to deal with it, they’re their players. We're not thrilled, obviously, with what happened, and nor are Geelong, so they're going to take some steps. I think there'll be something coming out this afternoon around that," he said.
"We pushed it down to them to deal with… they already were (doing something), which was good."
Swann also foreshadowed a shift in approach to player behaviour matters at AFL HQ, saying he believed that the clubs were often best positioned to determine appropriate penalties, if required.
"I think these are club issues, I’m not sure why the AFL - we will step in if we have to, but let the clubs do it," he said.
