Concussed Roo backs bumps review

NORTH Melbourne midfielder Shaun Higgins has backed a proposed review of the bump, saying his concussion last week has only heightened a desire to see greater protection for players.

While Higgins says Ryan Burton wasn’t deliberately trying to hurt him when they clashed heads after the Hawk’s decision to bump, he conceded the AFL had changed the goalposts in terms of the bump in recent seasons.

In a decision that divided the football world, Burton was controversially cleared of any wrongdoing by match review officer Michael Christian, who deemed Burton could not have reasonably foreseen the clash of heads.

Speaking for the first time about the incident, Higgins said yesterday: “I was under the impression that if you elect to bump and it goes wrong that you would find yourself in strife.

“Clearly that has changed a little bit over the last 12 months, especially after the Nat Fyfe incident a couple of years ago. That’s not for my worrying at the moment. The AFL has got to look at that, and I’m sure they will.”

AFL football operations manager Steve Hocking has indicated the league will look at all aspects of the bump in a post-season review, though Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley wants clarity before then. Higgins said: “I guess when you go through something like this, you support it [greater protection for the head] even more so.”

Higgins, who became a father for the first time only hours before the game, won’t play against Port tomorrow as he deals with the after-effects of concussion and plastic surgery on his lip.