Overview
- Hodge, who has a long-standing TAB partnership and had not attended a meeting, said Tuesday after speaking with the AFL he would step down to avoid any integrity questions.
- The league accepted his decision and the All-Australian selections and Rising Star voting will proceed without him.
- His exit follows Kane Cornes leaving last week after Sportsbet barred anyone on its books from holding official AFL roles, a step he said he could not defy under his contract.
- Sportsbet tightened its policy after scrutiny of umpire Nick Foot’s work for the bookmaker during a Round 5 incident involving Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters.
- The Butters abusive-language charge was first fined, then challenged, and ultimately dismissed by the AFL Appeals Board, easing the case but not the concern over betting links and conflicts.