AFL Injuries

Footy Concussion Report Round 16

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The Concussion Blog is now tracking the concussions of another collision sport, one with very good media coverage, albeit not in North America.  Aussie Rules Football and its professional league AFL have had an issue with concussion in the past and as we have seen on videos here, they can be scary.  With the help of Sportal we will be compiling the concussions on a weekly basis.

We have not forgotten about Aussie Rules Football, merely watching and compiling from afar.  There have been some very good contests the past 4 weeks, since our last update, but with that has come a slight increase in concussions.  If you have been following the updates for the Footy Concussions you will know that I have tried to reach out to; The AFL, some of the teams, various media in Australia and even the medical community of Australia.  All of those requests have gone unresponded to giving me pause about what actually the culture is like regarding concussions Down Under.

Currently we have found 30 concussions listed for Australia’s most popular sport, and that makes the rate of concussions 2 per round.  Below is the actual compiled list; Continue reading →

Footy Concussion Report Round 11

Dustin FinkLeave a comment

he Concussion Blog is now tracking the concussions of another collision sport, one with very good media coverage, albeit not in North America.  Aussie Rules Football and its professional league AFL have had an issue with concussion in the past and as we have seen on videos here, they can be scary.  With the help of Sportal we will be compiling the concussions on a weekly basis.The AFL is nearing the halfway point in the regular season and the concussions listed are starting to trickle in.  However I believe that some teams are following the “script” of NFL teams by not releasing the information if the players miraculously recovering in 5 days.  That “script” would be not releasing the information about the injury if it is not going to effect the upcoming game.

This week there was one “officially” listed and the other occurred on the same team in the same game but has not been reported as a concussion.  However that injury was documented in an article that stated he was hit in the head, removed on a stretcher, went to hospital, and his neck was cleared; guess what the injury is listed as…  “neck”; SMH! Below is the video of the “neck” injury, Goddard looks to have a “stinger” mechanism of injury, however the knock was to the head, and from further reports the injury was suspected to include his head.

So for this report the new listings are from St. Kilda; Continue reading →

Footy Concussion Report Round 10

Dustin Fink2 Comments

The Concussion Blog is now tracking the concussions of another collision sport, one with very good media coverage, albeit not in North America.  Aussie Rules Football and its professional league AFL have had an issue with concussion in the past and as we have seen on videos here, they can be scary.  With the help of Sportal we will be compiling the concussions on a weekly basis.

Do you recall my rant two weeks ago about the difficulty finding the injuries, especially at the “Superfooty” website?  Well guess what, they have reverted back to the old method and the method adopted by Sportal.  I still have no idea if anyone down under is reading the blog, THEY SHOULD BE, but I would like to think there is someone paying attention.  Let me take this time to extend an invitation for any team doctor or athletic therapist down under to meet with us, via phone or you can travel over here…  BETTER YET, I believe that I can effort the time to head that way for a symposium tour down under (of course this is a shameless plug to pay for me to see some live AFL), haha.  Seriously though I believe I can find enough “smart” people to create a learning opportunity for the AFL and Australian sports about concussions, email us.

Now with the self-promotion and begging for a trip down under out of the way there has been an increase Continue reading →

Footy Concussion Report Round 9

Dustin FinkLeave a comment

The Concussion Blog is now tracking the concussions of another collision sport, one with very good media coverage, albeit not in North America.  Aussie Rules Football and its professional league AFL have had an issue with concussion in the past and as we have seen on videos here, they can be scary.  With the help of Sportal we will be compiling the concussions on a weekly basis.

After some difficulty finding concussions down under, this week listings were much easier to find as two players were found along with two curious injury designations.  Let us begin with the interesting listings.

Last week I tweeted about Andrew Toovey and the hit he took; VIDEO HERE via AFL.  Seen in the video is Toovey taking a knee to the head as he was falling then his head bounced off the ground.  As he is taken off on a cart his neck was stabilized and it appeared that Toovey was out prior to that.  His injury is listed as “chest”, but we are going to list this as a concussion.

The other listing was not one we could see on a highlight film, but one that makes me think that the listing is a result of a/many concussions.  Simon Hogan of Geelong has been Continue reading →

Footy Concussion Report Round 8

Dustin FinkLeave a comment

The Concussion Blog is now tracking the concussions of another collision sport, one with very good media coverage, albeit not in North America.  Aussie Rules Football and its professional league AFL have had an issue with concussion in the past and as we have seen on videos here, they can be scary.  With the help of Sportal we will be compiling the concussions on a weekly basis.

It has been about 5 weeks since we updated this list; reason being one could not find any information on concussions in the AFL.  Personally speaking, while watching the games there have been multiple incidences of players being taken off the field, or staggering around after a hit; yet no concussion report.

In fact, after I sent out multiple emails down under for some help in finding this information; the “Superfooty” coverage of injuries changed.  Continue reading →

Footy Concussion Report Round 2

Dustin FinkLeave a comment

The Concussion Blog has decided to take up another project, tracking the concussions of another collision sport, one with very good media coverage, albeit not in North America.  Aussie Rules Football and its professional league AFL have had an issue with concussion in the past and as we have seen on videos here, they can be scary.  With the help of Herald Sun we will be compiling the concussions on a weekly basis.

After the second round there has been a noticeable interest in the concussion issue, from the media/broadcasters, to the print journalists, to even the players.  The stigma has reared its ugly head in a national broadcast, as Jack Riewoldt was very upset after being subbed out.  A day later Riewoldt conceded that the decision to remove him was the correct move.  Also in footy news; Daniel Bell opened up about his battle with symptoms related to post concussion syndrome and Daniel Gilmore is set to bring a negligence case against his former club and the AFL.

With all of this newly found awareness one would think Continue reading →

A Case of Negligence?

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The first publicized legal action against a professional league with regards to negligence when returning a player to the field.  Granted the judicial system in the AFL has no bearing on the US system, this will be an interesting case to keep an eye on.

Daniel Gilmore, who played for Fremantle in the Australian Football League in 2004-2009 is now bringing forward a case against the AFL and his former club for alleged “fit to play” designation after a head injury.

Delisted ruckman Daniel Gilmore, 28, will allege he was incorrectly passed fit to play by club doctors after a heavy hit in 2008.

Gilmore has since endured migraines, dizzy spells and lethargy. He was cut at the end of the 2009 season.

The Gilmore case may have greater ramifications than that of former Melbourne defender Daniel Bell, who is seeking compensation over concussion injuries, but is not claiming negligence or malpractice by his club.

Gilmore’s claim will be heard by the AFL Grievance Tribunal.

SOURCE

Footy Concussion Report Round 1

Dustin FinkLeave a comment

The Concussion Blog has decided to take up another project, tracking the concussions of another collision sport, one with very good media coverage, albeit not in North America.  Aussie Rules Football and its professional league AFL have had an issue with concussion in the past and as we have seen on videos here, they can be scary.  With the help of Herald Sun we will be compiling the concussions on a weekly basis.

Round 1 began with an announcement 48 hours prior to the opener about concussions, and without fail the season began with some high-profile injuries.  The fan base in Australia is rabid for their national game, we are not so much, so I will be learning about the sport as we go along.  We will see that there will be controversy as well with concussion decisions (see below).

If there are some international followers, I know you are out there, or some that know the sport well feel free to send information as it becomes available.  Before we begin with the list here are the particulars about the teams;

  • 17 Teams
  • 18 players on the field
  • 1 designated substitute
  • 3 designated interchangables
  • 22 actives, for a total of 374 players in the AFL
  • 22 game schedule in “home-and-away” portion of season over 24 weeks

I have no clue on positions other than defenders, midfielders and some person called a “ruckman”, so we will not be classifying by position unless our friends down under can educate me.  I will be watching some games Continue reading →