By Carla Jaeger
Port Adelaide have been hit with a $100,000 fine for not testing defender Aliir Aliir before sending him back on to the ground during Saturday night’s match against Adelaide.
The AFL issued the fine to Port on Friday over the club’s “error of judgment” which breached the league’s concussion protocols and, the league said, potentially risked the wellbeing of the 28-year-old. Half of the amount will be included in the club’s football department soft cap.
Aliir and teammate Lachie Jones clashed heads as they contested a mark, and both lay motionless on the ground for a moment before they walked off. Jones was substituted out of the Showdown because of a migraine, but Aliir returned to the field.
The AFL revealed on Sunday after a preliminary investigation that both players were subject to a head injury assessment under the AFL’s concussion protocols, but only Jones had the SCAT5 test, a standardised tool used by medical professionals to evaluate potential concussions. The test gives doctors guidelines to follow in assessing a patient.
Both players have since entered concussion protocols, and will miss Saturday night’s top-eight-shaping game against Geelong. Port Adelaide club doctor Mark Fisher has since conceded Aliir should have been put through a concussion test immediately after his head knock.
Along with the sanction, the AFL’s chief medical officer Michael Makdissi will also lead a review of the incident involving Aliir, which will consider whether the league’s current concussion protocols are best practice.
“An amount of $50,000 (50 per cent) will be included in the club’s football department soft cap with the balance ($50,000) outside the soft cap unless a similar breach occurs prior to the end of the AFL and AFLW seasons next year,” an AFL statement said.
The AFL’s general counsel, Stephen Meade, said the club took full responsibility.
“The AFL concussion protocols are some of the most stringent that exist in world sport, however they require strict and consistent adherence to protect the health and safety of our players,” Meade said.
“In this instance Port Adelaide admitted that Aliir should have undergone SCAT5 testing at the time immediately following the collision on Saturday night. By not undertaking the test, and Aliir returning to the game without being subject to that further detailed assessment, Aliir’s wellbeing was potentially at increased risk.”
Port Adelaide football manager Chris Davies said on Friday that the club accepted the sanction, while lending his support to Port’s doctor, Mark Fisher, with coach Ken Hinkley having publicly backed Fisher throughout the week. Davies added there was “no doubt” the $50,000 fine in the soft cap will impact the club.
“Mark Fisher has been a sports doctor for 40 years. Our faith in him absolutely remains,” he said.
“We are talking here about a stepped-out process in which, if he had the time again, he would do one part of that process differently. That doesn’t mean his critical diagnosis would have been different, but [he] acknowledges the process was not followed in its entirety.”
“The club is 100 per cent supportive of him … we’re thankful for the work Mark Fisher has done since 1997.”
Davies also said Jones and Aliir were doing “really well”.
“We hope they’ll be available at the earliest possible point, but we won’t take any chances on that,” Davies said.
“Concussion is one of the biggest threats to our game and, as such, any head knocks must always be treated with caution. It is vital we, as an industry, are conservative when dealing with these injuries.”
AFL Players’ Association boss, Paul Marsh, said the AFLPA spoke with Jones, Aliir and the club, and that the incident was an opportunity to reflect on the league’s protocols.
“The club doctor made a serious mistake but importantly both he and the club have taken responsibility for the mistake,” Marsh said.
“We acknowledge club doctors have an extremely difficult job and one that takes place in a high-pressure environment with real life consequences. This was a serious error of judgment that has rightly come under scrutiny.
“We have been in discussions with the AFL and the club around what can be learnt and improved as a result of this incident.”
The AFL issued a “please explain” to the club on Monday regarding its management of Aliir.
Under the league’s current guidelines, a player must be removed from play and enter concussion protocols if any signs of concussion are seen, and then undertake a concussion assessment which includes the key SCAT5 test.
Players diagnosed with concussion must be in the protocols for a minimum of 12 days, meaning they are removed from the match and also miss the following game.
“AFL club doctors are some of the most accomplished sports medicine professionals in the world, they have intimate knowledge of their players, and while in this instance there was an error in the club’s process, it shouldn’t undermine the work our club doctors undertake, and the care shown to everyone at their football clubs,” Meade said.
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