Late Collingwood and Richmond star Craig Stewart diagnosed with early stage CTE post mortem

Craig Stewart is the latest former footballer diagnosed with CTE with the late Richmond and Collingwood star’s condition revealed after his death in June last year.

09/1980. Collingwood's Craig Stewart. Football.

Former Collingwood and Richmond star Craig Stewart had the early stages of a debilitating neurological disorder linked to repeated head knocks when he died.

An analysis of Stewart’s brain by Australian Sports Brain Bank showed the 66-year-old was battling Stage I CTE – chronic traumatic encephalopathy – when he died in June last year.

St Kilda great Danny Frawley was suffering Stage II CTE when his four-wheel drive struck a tree in Millbrook, near Ballan, on September 9 2019.

CTE can only be diagnosed after death.

The Stewart autopsy was done by leading neuropathologist Michael Buckland, who confirmed his findings to the Stewart family.

Craig Stewart in training for Collingwood in the 1980s

Stewart’s son James was delisted by Essendon in August last year, two and half months after his father died.

James Stewart said: “We are very sad to finally receive the specialist medical report from the ASBB confirming that Craig had CTE.

“However, it does give us a better understanding of his deteriorating health and behaviour over the past few years.

“CTE is a devastating illness but a preventable one.

“Our hearts go out to all families affected by this preventable disease.’’

Stewart’s friend and manager through his 150-game career, Peter Jess, supported James Stewart’s observations of the continual change in the ‘’mood and behavioural patterns’ of Stewart over the past 15 years.

“I watched a once great proud man disintegrate in front of me and his family,” Jess said.

Jess said Stewart assisted in funding for the early clinical studies from 2011 which were conducted by Dr Alan Pearce, who is one of Australia’s leading concussion scientists at La Trobe University.

James Stewart was delisted by Essendon just a few months after the passing of his father Craig. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“Craig was observing changes to his former playing teammates, not only at his club but a range of other clubs and wanted to know why this was happening and wanted to know if there was a direct correlation between the playing of AFL and the incidence of brain trauma,” Jess said.

“Twelve years later we learn he himself had early CTE.

“There is a continuum of these outcomes which are red flags to everybody who played in the 1970s and 1980s, but also in the current era.

“The reality is starting to hit home and there’s no better demonstration than Craig Stewart, Danny Frawley, Shane Tuck and others.

“It’s no longer an if or a maybe, it’s a reality that continuous head trauma creates untold damage to the brain.

“What we’ve created is a whole concept of a ‘walking dead’ or at least a ticking time bomb on the back of repeated dysfunctional behaviour, which has an enormous cost to society.

Craig Stewart with sons James and Will

“The AFL has been made aware in the past 10 to 15 years the wives and families have no support mechanisms in place when their partners are impacted by brain damage from playing AFL.”

It’s not known how many concussions – clinical or subclinical – Stewart suffered during his playing career because his medical records were not recorded.

Known by the nickname ‘Snaggles’, Stewart was key forward/defender in the legendary Hafey Heroes’ teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He played 115 games and kicked 122 goals for the Pies. Also, he was third in the best and fairest in 1980 and 1982.

After leaving Collingwood, Stewart played 35 games for Richmond.

Last week the Australian Institute of Sport recommended that players in community sport be stood down for at least three weeks if they have suffered a concussion.

The AFL’s current directive is for a minumum of 12 days.

Originally published as Late Collingwood and Richmond star Craig Stewart diagnosed with early stage CTE post mortem