AFL is nearing a definitive position on the use of helmets in football

Nathan Burke, Angus Brayshaw and Paddy McCartin swear by helmets despite no official AFL position on them. Now the AFL is to release new minimum standards as its helmet study reaches the testing phase.

Paddy McCartin suffered another concussion in the 2019 JLT Community Series against the Western Bulldogs. Pic: Getty Images

The AFL will soon release new minimum standards for helmets used in football as its three-year study on their use reaches the testing phase.

The use of helmets in football remains contentious, with the league not recommending helmets because of insufficient data that they help reduce the impact of head knocks.

Angus Brayshaw has enjoyed a strong return to football from concussions using a helmet, while Patrick McCartin played 13 games last year wearing one but suffered a JLT series concussion.

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Both players use the soft padded N-Pro helmet that claims to reduce the force of blows but at present there is no helmet recommended or sanctioned by the league.

The league confirmed it was preparing to draft design specifications for helmet manufacturers to regulate their on-field performance.

A helmet works for Angus Brayshaw. Pic: AAP

After extensive testing it will announce standard for two levels of helmets — basic and advanced — which manufacturers must meet to be AFL-endorsed.

In the near future only those models will be permitted for use in AFL matches.

The hope is the next generation of helmets will use advanced technology to disperse the force of head knocks by absorbing the energy.

No helmet can stop concussions but former St Kilda star Nathan Burke believes wearing one saved his career after repeated concussions.

There is also the prospect that they will minimise the sub-concussions — repeated lower-level knocks — that some researchers can cause extensive damage to players’ brains.

The league has never recommended helmets because of the widespread belief that players using them can be more reckless with their attack on the ball.

Former Saint Nathan Burke was a fan of wearing a helmet.

Paddy McCartin’s return date to footy remains unclear. Pic: Getty Images

The league has teamed with Monash University to conduct a major three-year study that hopes to test the effectiveness of helmets and conduct of players using them.

This year in local leagues it will compare concussion rates of players using helmets to those who do not.

It hopes to eventually make a binding call on the use of helmets in football for junior and senior players.

Burke has counselled AFL players with concussion and urged them to wear helmets, with Saints coach Alan Richardson on board.

“The reality is, all the research suggests that it doesn’t help much, but if you were to ask Angus Brayshaw it didn’t do him any harm,” Richardson said.

“Nathan Burke, a former champion of our footy club, has spoken to our doctors and said exactly the same thing — while the research doesn’t suggest much, the player feels a bit more confident and that’s pretty important.”