Port Adelaide doctor Mark Fisher is stepping down after 15-years

The long-serving Port Adelaide doctor who sent Aliir Aliir back out into the Showdown has stepped down from position after 15 years in the role.

Long-time Port Adelaide doctor Mark Fisher will step down from his position as the club’s chief medical officer after 15-years in the role, just over a year after he was at the centre of the Power’s huge fine for failing to follow the AFL’s concussion protocols.

But Dr Fisher will continue to work with the club as its second doctor.

The Power announced on Thursday that Dr Fisher had advised the club that he would step down in his position.

He first started at Alberton when Port entered the AFL in 1997 and became the club’s chief medical officer in 2011.

Aliir Aliir of the Power down after a collision with Lachie Jones in 2023. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Port Adelaide footy boss Chris Davies said the Power had been “extremely fortunate” to have him at the club for so long.

“Mark is one of the most respected and trusted practitioners in Australian sport and we have been extremely fortunate to have had him working with our club for so long,” he said.

“We can’t thank him enough for his dedication to our players and staff across the years. Importantly he will continue to support our AFL program albeit in a reduced capacity.”

In 2023 Dr Fisher and the Power came under fire for the management of a head knock between Aliir Aliir and Lachie Jones in the Showdown, with Dr Fisher admitting that he should have got Aliir to undergo a SCAT test for concussion before returning him to the field.

The Power were fined $100,000 for it, which the league said potentially risked the wellbeing of Aliir.

Half of that fine was included in the Power’s football department soft cap.

In 2022 the AFL ticked off the Power’s handling of a heavy clash between then captain Tom Jonas and star Zak Butters against Richmond when both were floored but quickly return to the game.

After that game Power senior coach Ken Hinkley teed off in his post-match media conference against criticism of Dr Fisher.

Fisher with Sam Powell-Pepper in 2023. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

He will be replaced by Dr Jaeger Wylie, who has been working under Dr Fisher in the Power’s SANFL and AFL programs since 2021.

Dr Fisher will now work at the Power as its second doctor in a supporting and mentoring role.

It was one of two off-field announcements made by the Power, with assistant coach Luke Kelly to depart Alberton after he was advised his contract would not be renewed for 2025.

Kelly arrived at Alberton from GWS ahead of the 2022 season and has been the Power’s midfield assistant coach for the past three seasons.

The Power also announced that defender Tom McCallum will not be offered a contract for 2025.

The Tasmanian was taken at pick No. 36 in the 2022 draft and never played an AFL game for the Power.