AFL 2023: Port’s handling of sickening head clash exposes the failure of the league’s concussion management system, says Peter Jess
“Boxing has better concussion management” – player advocate Peter Jess has slammed the AFL after its “not fit for purpose” concussion system failed again.
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Port Adelaide’s handling of Aliir Aliir and Lachie Jones’ collision of heads is a “watershed moment” for the game when it comes to concussion guidelines and protocols, player advocate Peter Jess says.
The AFL on Monday issued a please explain to the Power over the club’s decision to not “undertake a SCAT5 concussion test” after Aliir’s initial head-injury assessment in Saturday night’s Showdown.
Port Adelaide’s club doctor Mark Fisher has conceded he was wrong to allow Aliir to return to the field without a SCAT5 concussion test.
Both Aliir and Jones were put into concussion protocols on Monday, ruling them out of Saturday’s crunch match against Geelong.
The club said on Monday that the players had not failed concussion tests, but both of them had headaches.
Port Adelaide said Jones passed the SCAT5 test on Saturday night, but he was subbed out of the Showdown because of a migraine.
Jess, a long-term concussion campaigner who is involved with a class-action of former players against the AFL over their handling of concussion, said that the AFL’s concussion protocols were “not fit for purpose”.
“This situation highlights how ineffective the AFL concussion assessment and management system is when it allows two players knocked unconscious to be considered able to return to play on the same day,” Jess said.
“As if you can have someone knocked out cold, recover in 20 minutes and not sit out because they are concussed but sit out because they have a migraine.
“It is a system failure, this is a watershed moment for the AFL because what it has done is expose the absurdity of their concussion management system.”
The Power are now working on providing the AFL with the information it has requested around what happened on Saturday night.
The AFL is expected to hit the Power with a fine for its handling of the clash of heads.
Jess said it needed to be the trigger for change.
“Boxing is considered one of the most barbaric contact sports but has better concussion assessment and management than the AFL,” he said.
“If you are knocked unconscious it is an automatic 30 day stand down.
“In the AFL you can be knocked unconscious and return to play.”
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Originally published as AFL 2023: Port’s handling of sickening head clash exposes the failure of the league’s concussion management system, says Peter Jess
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