Adelaide, Brisbane and Carlton will be issued please explain letters by the AFL over their handling of head knocks

The AFL have sent three please explain letters over concussion protocols management, following incidents involving Jordan Dawson, Harry McKay and Harris Andrews.

Adelaide has backed in its medical team, after the Crows were one of three clubs the AFL hit with please explain letters for how they managed head knocks during games on the weekend.

While Brisbane have revealed that co-captain Harris Andrews was now in concussion protocols after the incident he was involved in on Sunday against Sydney.

The AFL have issued a please explain letter to Adelaide, Brisbane and Carlton for their management of head knocks suffered by Jordan Dawson, Andrews and Harry McKay on the weekend.

Concussion management protocols and how clubs react to potential head injuries has again come under the microscope after the three incidents across the weekend where either a Head Injury Assessment was done quickly on the ground or a player was left out on the field for minutes before being taken off for a test.

Jordan Dawson on the Marvel Stadium surface on Friday night. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Dawson entered concussion protocols and will miss the Crows clash with Hawthorn this week.

He was joined by Andrews, with the Lions announcing on Monday evening that their co-captain had entered concussion protocols.

McKay passed his tests but the AFL will still ask the question of all three clubs regarding the “management of their respective concussion management protocols” AFL spokesman Jay Allen confirmed.

Dawson was involved in an incident with Essendon’s Nate Caddy in the third quarter of the Crows win on Friday night.

The Crows captain stayed on the ground after being tended to by medicos, and Adelaide said it was an incident involving him and Nic Martin in the fourth quarter - after which Dawson self-reported symptoms - that led to him being put in concussion protocols.

After the game Melbourne legend Garry Lyon teed off at Dawson’s HIA being conducted on the ground.

“That is staggering … If it is a hamstring, they ain’t doing it on the ground. This is a brain injury, get the bloke off and do it properly,” he told Fox Footy.

The AFL said on Saturday that the MRO believed it “was reasonable for Caddy to contest the ball in the way he did and in the circumstances which included Dawson being pushed forward and downwards into his path”.

Harry McKay is helped to his feet after a heavy collision against the Roos on Sunday. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

The Crows insisted that player health and safety was their top priority.

“Our trusted, experienced and respected medical team has a proven and long standing record of providing treatment and care of the highest order,” a spokesman said.

Andrews suffered a head knock in the final quarter of the Lions’ win over Sydney on Sunday, returning late on in the quarter.

The Lions said he then suffered a concussion in a separate incidents in the final seconds of the match, which was confirmed after the club conducted a HIA.

“The Lions defender had only minutes earlier returned to the field after successfully passing a compulsory SCAT6, which was required for a separate incident,” the club said.

McKay clashed heads with North Melbourne’s Eddie Ford in the third quarter of Carlton’s win at Marvel Stadium.

While he was visibly dazed after the incident, he remained on the field for minutes - kicking a goal in the process - as the Blues could not get him off the ground as McKay remained adamant that he was fine.

He eventually did get off the ground and underwent testing, returning to the game after clearing them.

But the Blues have been criticised for the look of it.

Dual North Melbourne premiership player David King said on Sunday night that Carlton had a case to answer, despite McKay passing tests.

“We’re not taking it seriously if a player can stand up and wobble and not be taken from the field for an assessment,” he said on First Crack.

“I don’t care what the player does in terms of thumbs up, ‘yeah, I’m fine’ — it’s not his call.

“We’ve flipped the game on its head with tackling and bumping, and every other small action is now costing three weeks instead of just ‘yep, let’s roll on’.

“We’ve stretched the fabric of our game to the nth degree (but) we allow this guy to appear concussed and play on for the next five minutes — it’s not good enough.

“We’re supposed to have an AFL representative in the ARC demand the player come off — where was that today? It took way too long — five minutes is too long. If we’re going to take this (concussion prevention) on from all angles, this is an easy starting point.

“I think Carlton have got a case to answer here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the AFL comes down super hard on this tomorrow.”

Originally published as Adelaide, Brisbane and Carlton will be issued please explain letters by the AFL over their handling of head knocks