Concussion victim Chad Rintoul ‘felt sick’ watching response Port Adelaide head clash

The AFL is putting a mountain of work into reducing head knocks, which made what happened on Saturday night even more laughable for one former player.

Chad Rintoul flies for a mark.

Concussion victim Chad Rintoul says he felt “sick” watching Aliir Aliir return to the field on Saturday as he battles mental fatigue so strong he has been forced to stop work in recent weeks.

Rintoul was forced out of football in 2002 by as many as eight concussions, missing Collingwood’s grand final charge with migraines so bad he couldn’t put his head on his pillow to sleep.

The 48-year-old now lives in West Australia and while his quality of life had improved post-career, he is now battling what he labels mental fatigue.

Last month he stopped work as an electrician because he was so tired he would finish work then go straight to bed to ease his symptoms in a silent, dark room until it was time to work the next day.

The former Adelaide, West Coast and Collingwood player said he was stunned to hear the Power label Lachie Jones’ issue as a migraine given that symptom is so often concussion-related.

Aliir and Jones have now been put in the concussion protocol after their head clash on Saturday night.

Aliir Aliir and Lachie Jones after their big clash on Saturday night. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Rintoul is part of Greg Griffin’s potential concussion class action but his overriding message is to players to take control of their own future after head knocks.

“I didn’t see it live. I was watching the cricket and my missus came up to me and said, ‘You should see this’. A migraine is a concussion symptom, isn’t it? I felt sick when (Aliir) came back out again. I was laughing, it was that bad,” he told the Herald Sun.

“To get Aliir back out there after five minutes is embarrassing. For all the hard work people are doing and the AFL are doing to change the rules and look after players, it’s an embarrassment.

“I should have taken time out after my concussions. The awareness wasn’t there, but I rushed back as quickly as I could. And it stuffed me up. I had concussions and I didn’t allow my brain to heal. I was watching clips of my games two or three weeks ago and I got knocked out in games and played the next week. I am disappointed I didn’t take time out.

“Just don’t rush. Take an extra week or two or three weeks if you feel bad. It will probably prolong your career by an extra two or three years. I can’t stress that enough. If you are not sure, be extra cautious. Just don’t go back on. The evidence is out there about CTE and suicides and we have got to get on the front foot with concussion.”

Chad Rintoul in action for Collingwood.

Chad Rintoul after a head knock in the SANFL.

Rintoul returned to Perth after his career ended and ran an electrical business, but says in the last few years he has noticed how “things just really slowed right up”.

“I stopped work about a month ago. I was having issues and the doctor said to take some time off and give it a few months and see how I go. I don’t get a heap of migraines these days, it’s just a constant headache. A numb headache and I am just absolutely stuffed by the end of the day,” he said.

“It is mental fatigue. I would go home from work and go to bed until the next day. It was too much to handle. Just silence in a black room. I would shut up shop and get my head together.

“When I don’t work I can get up and meditate for an hour and get my head together and feel more refreshed. I just do the best I can. I have a good diet. I don’t drink a lot, I don’t party. I am really low-key and it works.”

Rintoul has modest expectations for the AFL’s concussion fund and potential law suits, saying he has not heard from the league or the player union since he retired in 2002.

But he is in the process of filling out his forms to donate his brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank in the hope he can help current players by telling his story to promote awareness