Former high-flying Melbourne football star Shaun Smith is determined to make the AFL pay, warning this week’s decision to clear Collingwood defender Brayden Maynard after a sickening collision with a rival player shows officials are still not taking concussion seriously enough.

The Maynard decision has divided the AFL world, as players, officials, club presidents and lawyers debate whether the knockout blow was a “football act” and truly “unique” or whether the game is set to follow the $US1 billion ($1.55 billion) settlement used to resolve thousands of NFL concussion lawsuits.