‘Inexcusable’: Carlton savaged over ‘disgraceful’ Harry McKay HIA drama

Carlton and the AFL have both been slammed over uncomfortable scenes on Sunday slammed as “not good enough” by a footy great.

Harry McKay didn't look great. Photo: Fox Sports

AFL champion David King believes Carlton have “a case to answer” after Blues forward Harry McKay played on for five minutes after appearing dazed following a head clash.

The Blues claimed a hard-fought 16.11 (107) to 14.4 (88) win over North Melbourne to claim outright second on the AFL ladder.

Watch every game of every round this Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today >

But questions have been asked after McKay appeared to be disorientated after coming out second best in a marking contest.

Competing against two North Melbourne players, McKay was sandwiched and fell heavily.

McKay was slow to his feet, helped by teammates and the commentators even mentioned he “does not look good here”.

Usually players would come off for a head injury assessment (HIA) but it took five minutes to get him off the field as the Carlton medical team were dealing with another player.

So McKay stayed on the field, even kicking a goal before being brought from the field.

Just before the goal, Jordan Lewis said McKay “still didn’t seem right”.

When he kicked the goal, Dwayne Russell said “Harry, nothing wrong with him”.

Eventually he was brought off for the concussion test, which he passed, coming back to kick a second goal for the match.

McKay looked less than perfect. Photo: Fox Sports

McKay took some time to get to his feet. Photo: Fox Sports

Post-game, McKay told Fox Footy he was fine.

“I’m good, it was nice to get a 10-minute break there but I was fine, I think it was more precautionary and I’m feeling all good so it was all good,” McKay said.

“It’s not uncommon to get a few knocks to your shoulders and the back of your head but I was fine straight away, I kicked a goal straight afterwards so I don’t think I’d kick a goal if I didn’t feel great.”

Speaking in his press conference, coach Michael Voss said he was confident the team followed the protocols.

“What I do know is that the protocol is there, and we were notified that we needed to get him off the ground, so we got him off the ground, and he went into those protocols,” Voss said.

“Fortunately, he was able to respond, he was OK and he was able to keep the game going.”

But the messaging from Carlton didn’t pass the smell test, with the situation being compared to the Aliir Aliir drama from last season.

McKay had two goals for the Blues. Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

In that situation, the Port Adelaide defender was not given a concussion test, with the AFL handing down a $100,000 fine.

The club doctor believed Aliir didn’t have any concussion-related symptoms, despite him passing a test after the game, but entering concussion protocols the following week.

Fans were quick to savage the scenes.

For those saying "he wasn't dazed" or whatever, I don't get how you can look at this footage and say that with a straight face. Even the North players were worried.

He 1000% should have been instantly taken from the ground for an assessment. Not 6~ minutes later at 3 qtr time. pic.twitter.com/erdBzIVAFt

— Chad Ryan (@ChadwikoTWW) July 21, 2024

2018 West Coast premiership player Will Schofield wrote: “Any reason why Harry McKay is still on the ground right now? Hit his head, stayed down …”

NewsWire’s Ronny Learner tweeted: “What is Harry McKay still doing out there? Play stops for the blood rule, should be no different for a head knock.”

And the hits kept coming on Fox Footy’s First Crack.

Leigh Montagna said the decision showed there was “a grey area”.

“When a player clearly looks like he’s had a situation, what is the rule? Is it a thumbs up? Is it come off the ground?” Montagna said.

“That’s got to be cleared up for next year to be 100 per cent so everybody knows what happens in a situation where a player looks like he's been concussed or dazed.”

It wasn’t a good look. Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

North champion David King said it was an area the AFL needed to fix to show it was serious about potential head injuries.

“We’re not taking it seriously if a player can stand up and wobble and not be taken from the field for an assessment,” King said.

“I don’t care what the player does in terms of thumbs up, ‘yeah I’m fine’. It’s not his call. We’ve flipped the game on its head with tackling and bumping and every other small action is costing three weeks.

“We’ve stretched the fabric of our game to the nth degree and we’ve allowed this guy to appear concussed and play on for the next five minutes. Not good enough.

“We’re meant to have an AFL rep in the ARC demand a player come — where was that today?

It took way too long. Five minutes is too long. If we’re going to take this on from all angles, this is an easy starting point.

“I think Carlton have a case to answer here and I wouldn’t be surprised if the AFL came down super hard on this tomorrow.”

Originally published as ‘Inexcusable’: Carlton savaged over ‘disgraceful’ Harry McKay HIA drama