AFL 2021: Nick Vlastuin concedes concussion wiped his memory of Grand Final
Nick Vlastuin was ruled out of the 2020 Grand Final in the opening minutes with concussion. He opens up on how the blow affected him.
Nick Vlastuin has made the startling admission that the concussion which floored him in last year’s Grand Final wiped his memory of Richmond’s third premiership in four years.
The Herald Sun revealed this week that 29 players have already been diagnosed with concussion this season.
The AFL is on track to record more than 100 concussion this year. In 2015 there were 52 concussions documented.
Vlastuin, 27, was the last player knocked out in 2020, with Patrick Dangerfield’s attempted spoil knocking the star defender out cold in the opening minutes against Geelong.
Vlastuin lay motionless on the grass and was eventually stretchered from the Gabba, causing a lengthy delay in the Grand Final.
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“I honestly can’t remember the previous day or that whole day,” Vlastuin said.
“This was the first one (concussion) where I was completely unconscious.
“I was out for about three minutes.”
Vlastuin said he felt a touch “guilty” because the Tigers fell 21 points behind Geelong late in the second quarter as he watched on.
But from that point they were ignited by Dustin Martin’s four unstoppable goals and powered to the flag.
“I don’t have many feelings about that day because I honestly can’t remember most of it,” Vlastuin said on SEN.
Vlastuin also revealed that he completed a 10km running session on Friday evening and was on track to return against the Cats in Round 8.
If the star defender pulls up OK on Saturday he will be cleared to return to “normal training” next week.
Dustin Martin is due to return from New Zealand on Monday and should also slot back in against Geelong.
Revealed: New concussion rule to impact local footy
—Michael Warner
The AFL’s 12-day concussion stand down rule will be enforced across dozens of suburban and junior footy leagues.
On the day the Herald Sun revealed 29 AFL players had been concussed in 2021, the league said it was extending the mandatory week off for players who suffer head knocks to lower level competitions.
Players concussed in all local league’s controlled by the AFL will be required to sit out a minimum of 12 days on the sidelines and obtain a medical clearance before returning to the field.
The AFL is hopeful the country’s 270 Australian rules football leagues will adopt the 12-day concussion protocol.
“The updated guidelines reflect the AFL’s ongoing commitment to the health and safety of all players at each level of the game,” AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon said on Tuesday.
“Concussion is a serious issue and we will continue to treat it as such.”
The AFL said it had also appointed two full-time concussion experts – Associate Professor Catherine Willmott as head of concussion innovation and research and Rachel Elliott as head of concussion and healthcare governance – to “lead development, research, education, innovation and governance” of the league’s concussion strategy.
Long-time concussion campaigner and AFL player agent Peter Jess said the moves signalled the start of a new era of concussion awareness.
INSIGHT: FOOTY’S TOUGHEST PLAYERS ON CONCUSSION SCOURGE
“As the evidence mounts, the game needs to get used to the idea of changing its rules, practices and procedures to protect players of all levels,” Jess said.
A 12-day concussion lay off was introduced for all AFL and AFLW players in January following revelations St Kilda champ Danny Frawley and Richmond hardman Shane Tuck had been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy – the degenerative brain disease linked to head knocks – after their tragic deaths.
In a statement explaining the new concussion protocols for local leagues, AFL chief medical officer Peter Harcourt said: “A player who shows symptoms or any signs of concussion during a match or training must be removed from the field of play and assessed, and must not return to that match or training session.
“The next step is that the player must be assessed by a medical professional, then move through each of the steps in the guidelines, and finally receive medical clearance prior to returning to full-contact training.”
Junior footballers aged 5-17 will require an even more conservative approach than adults “because their brains are developing”, the AFL said.
Revealed: Every club’s concussed stars
- Sam Landsberger
Footy is on track to record more than 100 concussions this season.
Up to Round 6, and including the solitary pre-season round, 29 players have been sidelined under the AFL’s new 12-day protocol for head knocks.
Melbourne’s Steven May suffered two concussions in five weeks, taking the total number of concussions to 30.
In 2015, 52 concussions were documented in the AFL Concussion Audit, which was listed in the league’s official injury report.
The spike in concussions can partially be attributed to more conservative management protocols, according to the AFL.
Concussion campaigner Peter Jess says he has repeatedly warned the AFL not to decrease list sizes due to “the health and safety risk to players now that we are discovering the true extent of the concussion impact”.
Jess wants list sizes increased by 25 per cent to help cater for the carnage.
“Clearly, this year’s numbers are confirming our fears that previous concussion statistics were grossly understated,” he told the Herald Sun on Monday night.
Richmond superstar Dustin Martin was diagnosed with the 31st concussion for the season on Saturday night.
Martin was the fourth player knocked out on the weekend. He will not play against Western Bulldogs on Friday night.
Tim English (Dogs), Darcy Gardiner (Brisbane Lions) and George Hewett (Sydney) are the other players who will sit out Round 7.
It appears inevitable that players will miss finals and potentially the Grand Final under the new guidelines.
From 2013-2018 there was, on average, 3.6 concussions per club per season, according to the AFL injury report.
The Herald Sun has requested the AFL’s latest injury data, but on Monday night it was unavailable.
North Melbourne has already sustained four concussions this year — Ben Cunnington, Cameron Zurhaar, Curtis Taylor and Aaron Hall.
Cunnington, 29, struggled to shake his symptoms and was sidelined for 49 days.
West Coast premiership player Daniel Venables has not recovered from a sickening concussion sustained in Round 9, 2019.
Venables, 22, is still listed as indefinite and remains a long-term proposition.
West Coast recruit Zac Langdon was sidelined for 34 days after he was taken from the field on a stretcher during a pre-season game.
Multiple concussions have been recorded every round this season.
Senior coaches Leon Cameron (GWS), Chris Fagan (Brisbane Lions) and Brett Ratten (St Kilda) were all alarmed at the injury spike in Round 6.
Cameron questioned whether the shorter pre-season had contributed to 28-year-old Nick Haynes tearing a hamstring for the first time in his life.
Fagan said 20-minute quarters were now too long, while Ratten warned there was a “tipping point” for missing superstars.
“It’s going to be tough for teams if you’re using 37, 38, 39 players in a season,” Ratten said.
“It will challenge teams and that might mean older players play and people don’t go to the draft, which could change how we look at the game going forward.
“We’ve shortened lists, we’ve shortened rotations and made the game even longer than it was two years ago.”
In total 718 games have already been lost through injury this year.
Fremantle (60 games), Carlton (58) and North Melbourne (52) have lost the most, while Collingwood (22) and Richmond (23) have had the healthiest lists.
Brownlow Medallists Lachie Neale (syndesmosis) and Patrick Dangerfield (syndesmosis), as well as Sydney superstar Lance Franklin (knee), are all included in that data and are set for lengthy stints in the stands.
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