The Field of Law

Tim Fuller & Matt Krog
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Sport throws up a legal question every week. Doping bans, tribunal hearings, contract disputes, salary cap breaches. Most of it gets a headline and nothing else. Nobody explains what actually happened, what it means, or why it matters. The Field of Law is where two of Australia's leading sports lawyers actually break it down. Tim Fuller and Matt Krog aren't commentators. They're the ones in the room when it happens. Tim is a Special Counsel at Bennett & Philp, widely regarded as one of Australia's leading sports law lawyers. He has acted for LIV Golf, Octagon, IMG, the UK Super League, the NRL and the French Rugby Federation, and represents athletes and clubs in anti-doping and integrity matters before national tribunals and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He acted for Australian swimmer Shayna Jack, helping cut her WADA ban in half, one of the most significant athlete rights outcomes in Australian sport. Before law, Tim played NRL for South Sydney and the Gold Coast, then professional rugby league in France with the Catalans Dragons. That playing background shapes how he reads the game today, on and off the field. Matt Krog is the founder of Aus Sports Law. He represents current NRL players working through NRL Judiciary hearings, player contracts and tribunal appeals as they unfold in real time. Together, Tim and Matt take a real case or a real headline each episode and break down what actually happened, what it means commercially, and why it matters for the next athlete, club or contract. No sideline commentary. No hot takes without substance. Just two practising lawyers talking through the cases they actually work on. Expect conversations on: Anti-doping cases and WADA rulings, including how bans are argued down and what athletes' rights actually look like in practice.NRL Judiciary and AFL Tribunal decisions, and what really happens behind a suspension or a fine.Player contracts and salary cap disputes, including restraint of trade arguments and what a breach actually costs a club.Court of Arbitration for Sport rulings, and how CAS decisions filter down into Australian sport.Athlete image rights and NIL, including what an athlete can actually commercialise and what happens when a signature, a nickname or a brand gets used without permission.Governance and integrity in Australian sport, from match-fixing exposure to board accountability when things go wrong.Broadcast rights and sponsorship deals, and what actually triggers a termination clause in a major partnership.Global stories with ANZ relevance, from LIV Golf and the Saudi Pro League to the European Super League's legal fight and what it means for breakaway competitions everywhere. The Field of Law is built for people who work in and around sport. Club administrators, player agents, sponsors, athletes, sports executives, and anyone who wants the legal side of the game explained by people who actually practise it, not talk around it. Follow along for case breakdowns, athlete rights, tribunal decisions and the business of sport, explained properly. General commentary only. Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal advice.

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    How a Club Can Stand Down Five Players | The Swans, the Disrepute Clause & EQT's Storm Deal

    The Sydney Swans have stood five players down for the rest of the season. Tim Fuller and Matt Krog leave the police investigation where it belongs and dig into the sports law question everyone is asking: how can a club stand down players who have not been charged with anything? The answer sits in one clause. Tim and Matt break down the disrepute clause, sometimes called the morality clause, how it is drafted, why the wording decides everything, and why sponsors can hit pause on a deal long before a court says a word. They cover the two parallel tracks of a police matter and a contract matter, the illicit drug policy questions circling the story, and the very real defamation risk for anyone posting their own version of events online. Then the money. Swedish private equity giant EQT is set to take a controlling stake in the Melbourne Storm at a reported $150m to $200m valuation. Tim and Matt unpack what a capital raise actually means, why global investors are buying into Australian sport, and what the Wrexham story tells us about treating a club as just another asset. Plus, natural justice in sporting tribunals, the Van Royen biomechanics appeal, and whether NRL coaches should move to standard employment contracts. This is two practising sports lawyers talking shop. Follow The Field of Law on Spotify so you never miss an episode, and tell us where you land on the Swans stand-down over on Instagram and LinkedIn. The Field of Law is general commentary on sport and the law. It is not legal advice.

  2. Aug 13

    AFL Concussion Waivers, Privacy Law and Duty of Care

    A Geelong player signed a document the AFL never saw. Two practising sports lawyers unpack why that document may not survive contact with Australian law. Tim Fuller and Matt Krog open the first episode of The Field of Law with the story dominating Australian sport: the so-called concussion contract at the Geelong Cats. A waiver, a release of liability, and an acknowledgement signed by a player with a documented history of head knocks, sitting outside the AFL collective bargaining agreement and never lodged with the competition. They work through the questions that actually matter. Can a club contract out of its statutory work health and safety obligations? What happens to the player's ability to bring a future claim now the waiver has been withdrawn but the acknowledgement remains? How did confidential health information, protected as sensitive information under the Privacy Act, end up in the public domain? And the question nobody has asked: if the player was medically fit to play, why was a letter required at all? Before the case, Tim and Matt explain how they got here. Matt was in the Brisbane Broncos elite development program until a spinal injury at 16 ended his career and left him temporarily paralysed. Tim spent ten years as a PE teacher in the era before salary caps and collective bargaining agreements, in a game where you worked and played. Also in this episode: whether run it straight events fall under combat sports legislation in New South Wales, and in Queensland the contest would operate under contest rules only and not specific legislation. Plus the Alligator Blood case, where a 2020 stewards inquiry was reheard in July 2026 after six years of litigation. Chapters: 00:00 Who we are and why this show exists · 01:06 Matt Krog: the Broncos, then the injury · 07:55 Tim Fuller: Chinchilla to sports law · 10:16 The Geelong concussion waiver · 13:02 Privacy Act and how it got out · 16:34 What the AFL and AFLPA should do · 21:00 If the player had refused to sign · 23:03 Run it straight: a combat sport? · 28:22 What we are working on · 30:36 Alligator Blood, six years on This episode is general commentary and analysis. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship.

  • 2 Episodes

About

Sport throws up a legal question every week. Doping bans, tribunal hearings, contract disputes, salary cap breaches. Most of it gets a headline and nothing else. Nobody explains what actually happened, what it means, or why it matters. The Field of Law is where two of Australia's leading sports lawyers actually break it down. Tim Fuller and Matt Krog aren't commentators. They're the ones in the room when it happens. Tim is a Special Counsel at Bennett & Philp, widely regarded as one of Australia's leading sports law lawyers. He has acted for LIV Golf, Octagon, IMG, the UK Super League, the NRL and the French Rugby Federation, and represents athletes and clubs in anti-doping and integrity matters before national tribunals and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He acted for Australian swimmer Shayna Jack, helping cut her WADA ban in half, one of the most significant athlete rights outcomes in Australian sport. Before law, Tim played NRL for South Sydney and the Gold Coast, then professional rugby league in France with the Catalans Dragons. That playing background shapes how he reads the game today, on and off the field. Matt Krog is the founder of Aus Sports Law. He represents current NRL players working through NRL Judiciary hearings, player contracts and tribunal appeals as they unfold in real time. Together, Tim and Matt take a real case or a real headline each episode and break down what actually happened, what it means commercially, and why it matters for the next athlete, club or contract. No sideline commentary. No hot takes without substance. Just two practising lawyers talking through the cases they actually work on. Expect conversations on: Anti-doping cases and WADA rulings, including how bans are argued down and what athletes' rights actually look like in practice.NRL Judiciary and AFL Tribunal decisions, and what really happens behind a suspension or a fine.Player contracts and salary cap disputes, including restraint of trade arguments and what a breach actually costs a club.Court of Arbitration for Sport rulings, and how CAS decisions filter down into Australian sport.Athlete image rights and NIL, including what an athlete can actually commercialise and what happens when a signature, a nickname or a brand gets used without permission.Governance and integrity in Australian sport, from match-fixing exposure to board accountability when things go wrong.Broadcast rights and sponsorship deals, and what actually triggers a termination clause in a major partnership.Global stories with ANZ relevance, from LIV Golf and the Saudi Pro League to the European Super League's legal fight and what it means for breakaway competitions everywhere. The Field of Law is built for people who work in and around sport. Club administrators, player agents, sponsors, athletes, sports executives, and anyone who wants the legal side of the game explained by people who actually practise it, not talk around it. Follow along for case breakdowns, athlete rights, tribunal decisions and the business of sport, explained properly. General commentary only. Nothing in this podcast constitutes legal advice.

Information

  • Creator
    Tim Fuller & Matt Krog
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Tim Fuller & Matt Krog
  • Show Website
    The Field of Law