By Peter Ryan
Six per cent of AFL players chose not to report concussion symptoms to doctors despite increasing education on the issue according to a Players’ Association survey conducted in 2019 as the AFL gears up for a season in which players will sit out more games with concussion under new protocols.
The survey figure showed there was a decrease in the number of players unwilling to report their symptoms compared to earlier surveys, with 10 per cent of players continuing to train or play without seeking medical attention after a concussion in the 2017 survey.
However the fact that close to 50 players admitted to hiding symptoms in 2019 (6 per cent of 840 listed players) means the message to players around concussion needs reinforcement.
Former St Kilda forward Paddy McCartin, who is planning to play in the VFL in 2021, admitted in a radio interview in 2019 that players had tried to hide concussion symptoms and there remains a reliance on players telling the truth to be accurately diagnosed.
The figures were contained in the coroner’s report released on Tuesday following the inquest into Danny Frawley’s death and were a result of an AFLPA survey of male players that was filled out by most players.
The coroner, Paresa Spanos, wrote in the report into Frawley’s death that “6 per cent of respondents [to the survey] reported experiencing a concussion that they did not report to a medical practitioner and 7.9 per cent of respondents reported continuing to train and/or play after a concussion and not seeking medical attention”.
The Players’ Association plans to conduct a similar survey of male and female players in 2021 to ascertain attitudes amid concerns players may be even more willing to hide symptoms this year because the mandatory sidelining of players for 12 days after a head knock guarantees they will miss games.
The AFLPA wrote a letter to the AFL this month as they push for a strong framework to be put in place that underpins the protocols and the introduction, if possible, of point-of-care diagnostic tools that give an objective measure of concussion.
The reporting of concussions that occur on game day is presumed to be at a high level with the AFL introducing observers inside its match-day review centre who note possible head knocks but there is some concern that it may be possible for players to hide concussions that occur when training.
Under the collective bargaining agreement, the AFL has guaranteed a minimum investment of $250,000 into research products related to concussion and head trauma with awareness about the issue growing after Frawley, Geelong great Graham “Polly” Farmer and Richmond’s Shane Tuck were diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after they died.
The AFL is also being urged to a set up a $2 billion compensation fund to avoid expensive court action and cover footballers who suffer damaging and lasting effects of concussion.
Player advocate Peter Jess, who is leading a legal class action of players suing for concussion injuries, has met the AFL over his plan for a quasi-workers compensation fund specifically for concussion-related issues and conditions.
Jess has proposed an amount roughly equal to WorkCover premiums of about $25 million a year be put aside for the next 80 years for the multi-generational fund.
The proposal is one of several options being considered to deal with the impact of concussion on players who suffer permanent damage from head knocks incurred playing the sport.
The coroner called for more research into the effect of blows to the head during sport.