Concussion campaigner Peter Jess has requested a full coronial inquest into Shane Tuck’s death

Concussion campaigners want the scope of the inquiry into Shane Tuck’s death widened, urging authorities to safeguard current and future players in their findings.

An agent for a group of retired AFL players has written to the state coroner asking him to reconsider his approach to the Shane Tuck inquest.

Leading concussion campaigner Peter Jess has asked State Coroner John Cain to “fully and properly” investigate the circumstances around Tuck acquiring chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a crippling neurological disease linked to repeated head knocks.

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A Tuck autopsy after he took his own life at 39 in July 2020 revealed the former Richmond player had the most severe case of CTE identified in an VFL-AFL footballer.

Last month Judge Cain said “I’m not inclined to … embark on an exercise that involves me apportioning blame as you’re seeking to have me do in relation to what Richmond Football Club should or shouldn’t have done”.

Judge Cain had been asked by Tuck’s widow, Katherine, to look into examples of whether her husband had been “poorly and badly” treated, after claims he had been allowed to continue playing after concussions in his 173-game career from 2004 to 2013.

Shane Tuck training for Richmond. Picture: Michael Klein

But Jess has urged Judge Cain to reconsider, saying a “cohort” of former players had requested a full coronial inquest into Tuck’s death as well as an investigation into the practices adopted by the VFL-AFL to protect players from the risk of head injuries.

The letter, in part, said: “The injuries suffered by Mr Tuck were not isolated. It is highly likely that AFL/VFL players whose careers overlapped with Mr Tuck have been exposed to the same risk.

“Without a full investigation of past practices, which led to these brain traumas, the current generation of AFL/VFL players (both male and female) may well be put at the same risk of injury which has been suffered by Mr Tuck.”

Jess claimed the interests of the cohort were not the same as the AFL and AFLPA, who he said did not support a full investigation.

The Richmond Football Club took exception to comments made in the Coroners Court last month in regard to the treatment Tuck received across his career.

Jess said the cohort - most who wished to remain anonymous - had concerns about their own futures, with a “large proportion” affected by their football careers.

The Herald Sun revealed last week lawyers for Tuck’s widow have written to Judge Cain asking him to consider stepping aside from the case over an alleged conflict of interest.

They raised concerns about his previous positions as the managing partner of law firms that acted for AFL clubs Collingwood and Hawthorn.

Originally published as Concussion campaigner Peter Jess has requested a full coronial inquest into Shane Tuck’s death