AFLPA backs club doctors calls for players to brought off the field for concussion assessments

The powerful AFLPA has acknowledged the significant difficulties facing doctors when required to assess possible concussions of players on the field and during play, backing their calls for change.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 21: Harry McKay of the Blues is helped to his feet after a heavy collision during the round 19 AFL match between Carlton Blues and North Melbourne Kangaroos at Marvel Stadium, on July 21, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

The AFL Players’ Association has emphatically backed a call from club medicos to conduct all head injury assessments off the ground in a game-changing move for the league’s concussion crisis.

The powerful players’ body has acknowledged the significant difficulties facing doctors when required to make a clinical assessment of players on the field and during play.

It puts the league under significant pressure to introduce rules giving doctors the power to stop play via the umpires.

AFLPA acting chief executive Regan Bunny said the doctors needed more time and consideration to conduct more thorough assessments on players’ head knocks from the bench.

Bunny said concussion was the biggest challenge facing the game.

“The AFLPA shares the concerns raised by the AFL Doctors’ Association in relation to the difficulties in assessing players for potential head injuries on the field,” Bunny said.

The Blues came under fire for their handling of Harry McKay last Sunday. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

“As such, the AFLPA supports the principle of removing players from the field to assess significant head injuries that occur during play.

“It’s critical that medical intervention, assessment, and potential treatment occurs in an environment that allows doctors to effectively evaluate the people under their care.”

The league will assess if it is appropriate to consider as a possible in-season rule change or leave until the end of the year.

The Players’ Association said it was open-minded about stopping play to remove players, pending more discussions with medicos, clubs and league chiefs.

Officials will also consider whether there is scope for any new rule to be abused if clubs want to stop play in deliberate fashion to help change the momentum in a match.

“If this means temporarily stopping the match by officials or umpires to safely remove players in this situation, we are open to exploring this with the AFL and the AFLDA to understand the practicalities of doing so,” Bunny said.

“Concussion is the biggest issue in the game so it’s vital we continually progress medical standards and processes to minimise risk and improve the identification of head knocks as much as possible.”

The Crows received a please explain over the handling of Jordan Dawson. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Eyebrows were raised when St Kilda’s Rowan Marshall and Geelong jet Jeremy Cameron brushed off their club doctors after alarming knocks this season.

Cameron was allowed to play on but was diagnosed with delayed concussion the following day.

The Players’ Association is also finalising a new Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee to guide its decision making on matters such as concussion.

Former Carlton doctor Ben Barresi is in line to chair the committee with help from former Brisbane Lion and academic Justin Clarke, who also retired from concussion, along with other medical experts.

The Herald Sun revealed on Tuesday the AFLDA said it was no longer appropriate to assess players fully for concussion while still on the ground.

Clubs have said the pressures on club doctors are increasing in the face of increased scrutiny on concussion cases.

“We’re running around on the field trying to chase a player and it takes forever to catch them or they’re in the midst of play,” the head of the AFLDA Dr Barry Rigby said.

“So it’s hard to actually get a hold of them and do the quick assessment, and even then when we get to the player – and I’m not blaming the players – but they’ll tell you they’re fine.

“So you can’t even get them to stop for two minutes to actually do that assessment

“So that’s probably not an ideal circumstance, if we’re trying to assess concussion.

“I believe, and I believe most of my colleagues would support the notion of a mandatory notification to the umpire from the ARC or indeed from us on the sideline if we saw an incident.”

AFL CLUB DOCTORS’ PLEA FOR UMPS TO STOP PLAY FOR CONCUSSIONS

– Sam Landsberger

Club doctors want on-field Head Injury Assessments banned and have reaffirmed their support for AFL-appointed independent medicos to assess matchday concussions.

The AFL issued ‘please explain’ letters to Carlton, Melbourne and Adelaide on Monday regarding their handling of head knocks at the weekend.

Dr Barry Rigby, the head of the AFL Doctors’ Association, said club doctors as well as the ARC should be empowered to notify field umpires to stop the game so a player can be taken from the field for a proper assessment.

“At the moment we have to try and go out there and make a quick assessment of the player to see whether they can continue,” Rigby told the Herald Sun.

Harry McKay is helped to his feet after a heavy hit. Picture: Getty Images

“That’s proving to be very, very difficult. We’re running around on the field trying to chase a player and it takes forever to catch them or they’re in the midst of play.

“So it’s hard to actually get a hold of them and do the quick assessment, and even then when we get to the player – and I’m not blaming the players – but they’ll tell you they’re fine.

“So you can’t even get them to stop for two minutes to actually do that assessment

“So that’s probably not an ideal circumstance, if we’re trying to assess concussion.

“I believe, and I believe most of my colleagues would support the notion of a mandatory notification to the umpire from the ARC or indeed from us on the sideline if we saw an incident.

“That player we’re concerned about, we need to do a quick assessment to make sure that player is OK.

“The play would stop, the umpire would send that player off to the sideline for a mandatory assessment.

“It might take a couple of minutes – but at least you’ve got the players’ attention, and we can have them in a more controlled way, look at the vision on the monitor and then make our clinical assessment.

“That should all be done without an interchange penalty (rotation) so that no side is advantaged or disadvantaged.

“Having spoken to other doctors there’s an overwhelming feeling that if a player needs to be assessed then the umpire should be notified either directly from the ARC or from us and play should stop like the blood rule and say, ‘You, to the sideline for a mandatory assessment’.”

The club doctor would then determine whether further evaluation via a 15-minute SCAT6 test was required, whether the player must be removed from the game immediately or was fit to continue.

Rigby – who lives in Queensland and was shielded from much of the media outrage – said AFL doctors “feel a bit like whipping boys” after the Illicit Drugs Policy saga and now the concussion issue.

Rigby said one major problem was doctors were now spending most of games “looking at that wretched monitor” on the interchange bench as fresh injuries occurred in real time.

Jordan Dawson will miss this week with concussion. Picture: Mark Stewart

“ARC can send two messages,” the Gold Coast Suns club doctor explained.

“(Player) No. 10 showed category two signs of concussion and must be taken off for a mandatory SCAT6.

“But it’s when the ARC sends through a message like, ‘No. 10 looks like they’ve got a vague look on their face after that contest. Can you go assess that player?’

“It might be 2-3 minutes passed before that notification arrives, and then you’ve got to review the incident on the monitor and then run on and try to find the player.”

Rigby said quite often players appeared concussed on TV replays when they were fine whereas other innocuous-looking incidents resulted in concussion.

“It’s not as black and white as everyone would like to make out,” Rigby said.

“It’s not easy to diagnose, so sometimes these things will occur and we won’t pick them up early.

“But that doesn’t mean that we’ve done anything wrong, it just means that we didn’t pick it up early and it’s come on later.

“Does a player who has had a knock and is completely asymptomatic, goes back and plays for a few minutes and then gets symptoms and then is brought off the field.

“Is that not a good thing?

“I don’t think we’ve done any harm to the player because they were completely asymptomatic beforehand – and if we’re not careful we’ll have half the side on the sideline getting assessed for looking vague or scratching their heads.”

Rigby said independent concussion spotting doctors would be welcomed on the proviso that the AFL club doctor was consulted on any decision to remove a player from a game.