He deserves compensation, but Seedsman would rather be playing footy | Graham Cornes

The AFL has compensation for permanent injury but scaled to age and future earnings. And who knows how much opportunity has really been lost, writes Graham Cornes.

There may be more frustrating ways for a football career to end, but it’s hard to think of them.

Paul Seedsman could not have imagined that an incident at training could end it all. And it was so innocuous – knee to the back of the head in a marking contest. It wasn’t even in a match; it happened during a pre-season training session in December 2021.

It didn’t look serious, nothing like the sickening collisions that we see week in week out that result in the player being stretchered from the ground.

He was momentarily stunned but had his wits about him.

It happens all the time. In the old days if it happened in a match, you wouldn’t have even left the field. The trainer would wave a jar of smelling salts under your nose, get you to your feet, give you a pat on the bum and send you back into the action.

Unless you were unconscious of course, which, given the violence, happened a lot less than you would think.

Then the stretcher would come out – an archaic but effective piece of equipment made of canvas with two poles stitched along the sides. Occasionally it broke as the trainers wrestled to carry it off the ground. There was an infamous moment at Glenelg Oval which, if it wasn’t so serious, was quite hilarious.

South Adelaide legend Peter Darley had been felled, loaded onto the stretcher and was being carried from the ground. Darley was a big man (he was the original Jumbo Prince) and the stretcher broke dumping him on the ground. Unperturbed, he got to his feet, waved to the crowd, picked up the stretcher and carried it off the ground. He insists he was best on ground until that moment, which is probably true. He was a great player.

Paul Seedsman was finally starting to get the reward and recognition for his nine years in the AFL system.

At Collingwood he’d played 49 games over four seasons but never consolidated a regular position.

Adelaide's Paul Seedsman clears by hand against Hawthorn in 2018. Picture: Michael Klein

A knee injury hadn’t helped but a fresh start at Adelaide promised more opportunity and indeed at West Lakes he started to fulfil some of his obvious potential.

He missed most of 2017 with a groin injury but returned for the last two minor round games and the ill-fated finals campaign.

It took until the 2021 season before he gained the complete confidence of coach Matthew Nicks.

He was an integral part of the Crows steady improvement over the course of that season and finished third in the Malcolm Blight Medal.

It was just recognition for his hard running and deep penetrating disposal. Just as importantly, he became a fan favourite. But his head just hasn’t cleared. Who could have guessed it was going to end like this?

The Adelaide Football Club has placed Seedsman on its inactive list. After the retirement of Fischer McAsey this left the club two short on its playing roster. Fortunately, Tyler Brown, the delisted son of Collingwood legend, Gavin was available.

Admittedly, we don’t see Collingwood players every week, but you can’t help but notice the sons of champion players. Both the Brown boys, Tyler and Callum, looked impressive, but they were never able to consolidate.

Dealing with the constant comparisons with your father can be discouraging but Tyler gets a fresh start, hyped as a much-needed big-bodied midfielder. Certainly he is tall (192cms), but at 84 kgs, rangy is probably a better description of his physique. He is not Patrick Cripps or Ollie Wines – yet.

Seedsman is contracted until the end of the 2023 season and he will have presence and support role around the club, but after that? He turns 31 today and it’s fair to say his playing days are over.

The AFL does have compensation packages for players with permanent injury but they are scaled to age and future earnings.

The issue of concussion looms as the AFL’s biggest crisis. It is constantly confronted by ex-players who are suffering long-term effects. In the wake of scathing criticism of its historical concussion research project, the Past Player Project, it has created the AFL Concussion Steering Group.

An independent review panel had found the Past Player Project was “underfunded, under-resourced and suffered from a lack of governance, stewardship and co-ordination.”

One of the researchers, Associate Professor Paul McCrory resigned in frustration citing “a lack of action by the AFL on players’ safety around concussion” as one of his reasons.

Professor McCrory did have other distractions however, having been accused of plagiarism, an academic deathnell for a researcher.

Paul Seedsman celebrates a round 18 goal against Melbourne in 2019. Picture Sarah Reed

Seedsman celebrates his goal in the first quarter against Richmond in 2018. Picture: Michael Klein

No doubt, the AFL is serious about minimising concussion, thus the establishment of the Concussion Steering Group. It is built on five pillars or working groups: 1, Medical. 2, Research and Innovation. 3, State and Community Football. 4, Risk, Insurance and Legal. 5, Communications and Media.

The AFL’s concussion protocol is under constant review.

We’ve seen the obvious changes in recent years: increased penalties for headhigh contact, dangerous tackle guidelines, sanctions around bumping, leading or driving with the head, punitive consequences of the potential to cause injury.

The AFL Concussion Guidelines are a multifaceted 18-page guide intended to impose minimum obligatory standards, such as the 12-day mandatory preclusion period after a concussion diagnosis.

There is no doubt the AFL’s constant review and revision of its concussion protocols are helping to reduce the incidence of concussion and its after-effects, but that is no comfort to people like Peter Jess who acts for ex-players who are showing the effects of post-concussion trauma.

It is a consuming passion for Jess, a firebrand lawyer and player representative who can produce a litany of examples where players and their families have been devastated by the after-effects of the players’ repeated head knocks.

He currently acts for eight plaintiffs, some of who are legendary players but he says there could be “hundreds” in the pool of litigants.

“The 12-day period in not long enough. Research in the USA says it should be at least 30 days”, he rages. He maintains change won’t be brought about by court action, it will be the result of “Mums and Dads not sending their kids to play footy.”

Of course, none of this helps Paul Seedsman get back on the footy field. The AFL may compensate him for a long-term injury; after all private industry is required to do that. However, it’s a fair bet that he’d rather have a clear head and be back on the footy field.