THE AFL has defended its investigation into former Western Bulldogs defender Michael Talia.
Talia was cleared of passing tactical information to his brother, Adelaide full-back Daniel, ahead of the 2015 elimination final between the two teams.
On Monday, the AFL released a statement after News Corp published details of a submission the Bulldogs made during the investigation.
"In this matter, the AFL received numerous submissions and conducted a broad range of interviews," the statement read.
"The documents made public today are only one side of the story, and their publication is unfair to all parties involved.
"The AFL reiterates that the Western Bulldogs acted appropriately in reporting the matter.
"Furthermore, robust submissions and exchange of views are important parts of the process and the proper functioning of the competition's integrity."
The Bulldogs expressed their disappointment at the time but said in a statement on Monday they had moved on from the investigation.
Meanwhile, Daniel Talia has asked for his family's privacy to be respected while his grandfather fights a health battle.
Talia took to social media on Monday amid fresh details around a 2015 investigation into allegedly leaked game-plan information from his brother, former Western Bulldogs defender Michael.
The Crows star posted an emotional message on Instagram, saying his family was going through something much bigger than football.
"Life throws a lot of challenges at you and the best thing you can do is act with kindness, dignity and respect to everyone you meet no matter the situation," Talia wrote.
"At the moment my family is going through something bigger than football so I ask that everyone please respect our privacy as my inspiration and my Pa Harvey fights his own battle.
"As he said to me yesterday, 'always be positive and never let anything come between you're (sic) family'."
The Bulldogs released their own statement on Monday to underline they had accepted the outcomes of the Talia investigation and moved on.
In response to fresh details published around the leaking of sensitive game plan information last year, the Bulldogs said the parties who were exonerated were "entitled to the benefit of that finding".
Former Bulldogs defender Talia, now with the Sydney Swans, was last year accused of leaking game-plan information to his brother ahead of the elimination final between the Bulldogs and Crows.
News Corp on Monday published a letter and submission to the AFL with previously undisclosed claims the Bulldogs had more evidence Talia had leaked part of the club's game-plan to his brother.
President Peter Gordon wrote at the time that there was "clearly sufficient basis for the AFL to find that there was an improper communication of confidential information".
The Bulldogs on Monday said they had "accepted and abided by the outcomes of that investigation, and have moved on".
"The Western Bulldogs also believe the other parties who have been considered to have been exonerated by the investigation are entitled to the benefit of that finding," the statement said.
"The Western Bulldogs reported our concerns and the evidence we had or had heard about and it was the AFL's job to then investigate those matters and hear all sides to the story and make a decision.
"The AFL, unlike the club, had the opportunity to compel answers from non-WBFC people and to examine evidence from them.
"The AFL made a decision based on all the evidence it considered relevant. We referred the matter and made submissions based only on the information available to us."
The Bulldogs were last year "troubled by certain aspects of the AFL investigation" but accepted the League's findings.
Speaking on SEN on Monday morning, president Peter Gordon said there had been some "bumps in the road" in the investigation, but there was no motivation from the club to leak documents.
"It was perfectly proper for the AFL to go and investigate it … and they've ultimately made a decision that we accept," he said.
"This (leaking documents) is the last thing we’d want to do, either in our own interests or in the interests of any of the other effected parties at a time when we've got so much to be excited about."
The club said the publishing of selected submissions on Monday was "one-sided and unfair to a number of people named in them, and ultimately also to us and our club".
"The Western Bulldogs believe that the leaking of these confidential documents represents a misappropriation and misuse of club property, and we will seek further legal advice as the use of the documents," the club said.
