Adelaide's Kyle Cheney faces a warning from the AFL's integrity unit after the former Hawk admitted he was joking when he said the Crows had received inside information from former Bulldog Michael Talia before one of this year's elimination finals.

While the AFL investigation into the Talia brothers and the alleged leaking of match information has cleared all parties, there is widespread disenchantment over the league's handling of the findings and its heavy-handed treatment of the Talias.

Sidelined: Michael Talia. Credit:Getty Images

Cheney, who sparked the investigation when he told former teammate Ben Stratton that the Crows had received information regarding the Bulldogs' forward set-up, admitted under intense questioning from AFL investigators that he had not been serious.

This was despite Cheney earlier telling Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge that his comments to Stratton were accurate. Stratton later passed on that information which finished up with the Bulldogs.