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More AFL players are admitting to hiding concussions, as the league’s ability to manage “the pre-eminent issue in the game” becomes increasingly tested.
The AFL Players Association (AFLPA) has found 12% of AFL respondents, as well as 10% in the AFLW, did not report diagnosed or potential concussions in its 2023 survey of close to 300 players. The previous year’s research found 9% did not report potential concussions, which was itself an increase on the 6% initially reported in 2022.
AFLPA chief executive Paul Marsh said concussion “has rapidly emerged as the pre-eminent issue in the game.”
“In our view there needs to be two areas of focus: making the game as safe as possible for current and future players, and supporting past players who are still suffering from the impacts of concussion sustained during their playing career,” Marsh said.
In addition to a fear of missing games due to the 12-day mandatory stand-down rule, players were not reporting concussions because they believed symptoms were of low severity – which was a more common explanation among women’s players and older men’s players.
Asked why they thought some might be unwilling to report potential concussions, players suggested concerns over missing games due to potential contract incentives, or the risk of missing out on selection, may explain the under-reporting.
The AFLPA also found concern over the long-term effects of concussion increases among older players.
“Our understanding of the impact of concussion and head knocks is evolving, but there’s much more we can do to adjust rules, improve medical processes and procedures, increase quality research and diagnosis, and enhance player education,” Marsh said.
The findings arrive as the AFL faces an array of issues around players’ brain health.
The league has appeared to step away from a major recommendation of the inquest into the death of former Hawthorn player Shane Tuck this week. In a written response to the Victorian coroner in March, the AFL had pledged to consider introducing independent doctors at matches to diagnose head injuries as part of a landmark report into concussion in Australian football.
However, chief executive Andrew Dillon defended the role of club doctors this week, indicating the league may be cooling on the prospect of independent medicos.
“We have got doctors at the clubs and I don’t think they need to be independent because [they] have got the best interest of the players [in mind],” Dillon told reporters on Monday. “That’s what they’re employed to do and that’s what they do.”
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AFL Doctors Association president Barry Rigby told the Herald Sun this week that independent doctors could work alongside their club-employed counterparts.
Geelong forward Jeremy Cameron remained on the field after his head struck the ground during his club’s match against Port Adelaide on Friday, even after he was assessed by the club’s doctor. The next day he reported symptoms and is now in concussion protocols.
Western Bulldogs draftee Aiden O’Driscoll was forced to retire on Tuesday without playing an AFL game, after failing to recover from a “significant” head injury during pre-season.
The concussion class action against the AFL led by former Geelong player Max Rooke is listed for a case management conference on 14 June.
