Brodie Smith has admitted putting his hand up to play seven days after being knocked unconscious in 2015 was the wrong decision
Adelaide’s club doctors ticked all the necessary boxes but, if he had his time again, Brodie Smith wouldn’t have put his hand up to play just seven days after being knocked unconscious in 2015
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Adelaide star Brodie Smith has admitted putting his hand up to play seven days after being knocked unconscious in 2015 was the wrong decision.
Smith, during his fifth season in the competition, copped a knee to the head in the final term of Adelaide’s Round 2 win over Collingwood and was carried from the ground in a neck brace.
It was the first concussion of his football career, at any level.
He was back on his feet quickly, however, singing the club song with his teammates post-match and, after passing a concussion test on Thursday, took his place in the Crows’ side the following Saturday.
Adelaide’s club doctors ticked all the necessary boxes but the long-kicking right-footer now believes he wasn’t quite ready.
“Looking back, especially my first one being quite a bad one, if I could have my time again, I would definitely have that next week off,” Smith said in a special edition of The Lowdown Podcast.
“I didn’t know what I know now, I tried not to worry about it and just get through it and keep playing.
“I passed all the concussions tests so I was able to get out there but I know looking back, running around at training and stuff, I wasn’t 100%.
“But as a footballer you tell yourself you are and you just want to play and get out there.”
He might have been out there but the dip in form was obvious.
Smith, who was All-Australian the previous year, dominated the Kangaroos in Round 1 before receiving three Brownlow Medal votes for his 29-disposal performance against the Magpies
But he failed to have an influence in the next month, averaging just 17 disposals.
“You can probably put that down to not being 100% and trying to push myself through when I probably shouldn’t have,” Smith admitted.
“It’s a good lesson for me and good lesson for others as well.
“It’s definitely not something to muck around with. If you need to take a week off, it’s probably the best thing to do.
And that’s exactly what Smith did following another head knock, this time in a nasty clash with St Kilda’s Nick Riewoldt, in Round 7, just five weeks after the first incident.
“I went and did a few more tests and everything was fine there so that gave me confidence that I was OK,” said Smith of the aftermath of the second concussion.
“I did a few different brain tests again, a bit more extensive than the usual concussion test.
“I just didn’t feel 100% myself for those couple of weeks I missed and I’m definitely glad now I took those couple of weeks off.”
Under the AFL’s new concussion policy, introduced this year, Smith would’ve have missed on both occasions with players now needing to pass a concussion test five days before a game.
“I really like the protocols that are in place now, making sure we look after our heads,” Smith said.
“As much as we love playing footy and getting out there and being courageous, you got to look after your brain.”
Port Adelaide midfielder Tom Rockliff, who has also suffered multiple head knocks over his career, agrees.
“The precautions the AFL is taking at the moment are a lot better than what they used to be, there’s no doubt you used to be able to get away with a lot more,” Rockliff told The Lowdown.
“You probably tell the doctor you feel fine and you might not be feeling fine.
“But nowadays players understand the risk involved with it. We understand there is life after football and you want to be able to do normal things with the family or go into a different work environment post-football.
“It’s about continuing to understand and making sure we are putting the best practices in place to protect players and their heads, and their futures.”