Rule change to protect young brains
The Senate commission also heard the following harrowing accounts from athletes and their friends and families about the devastating impact sports-related concussions had on them:
BARRY TAYLOR (RUGBY UNION)
He played rugby from under7s into his mid-30s. He was later diagnosed with dementia after displaying signs of aggression. He died aged 77. The scientist who examined his brain said it had shrunk in size and was among the worst she had seen.
KIRBY SEFO (RUGBY UNION)
Represented Australia and had more than 40 head knocks during her career. Suffers from dizziness, hypersensitivity to light, lost vision, loss of balance, disorientation, heavy fevers and severe vomiting.
TERRY STRONG (RUGBY LEAGUE):
A semi-professional rugby league player during the 1970s and ’80s who was diagnosed with dementia. Became psychotic and paranoid and was catatonic at one stage. Died during Covid. An autopsy on his brain indicated that he had suffered from severe late-stage CTE as well other illnesses.
JAMES GRAHAM (RUGBY LEAGUE):
Former British international who suffered multiple concussions. Has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and now looking at possible bipolar disorder.
SHANE TUCK (AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL):
Former AFL player who took his own life in July 2020 after a long battle with CTE. His
Community and youth sport are about to receive a massive shake-up.
The Australian Institute of Sport has revealed a new policy to protect Australian kids from the damage they can sustain from head injuries in sport.
Under the new rule change, players showing any symptoms of concussion won’t be allowed to play for a minimum of three weeks or train for two weeks.
The AIS rule change will apply to all junior and senior sports.
Currently, if a player is concussed, the minimum requirement is two weeks on the sidelines to ensure they don’t have any delayed reactions.
Surfers Paradise Demons colts player Andre Astras had his first concussion at age 15.
Astras, now 17, believes two weeks is a fair amount of time to recover.
“I don’t think it is really necessary (to change it to three weeks),” Astras said.
“I have had concussions before and I think two weeks was a long enough time frame to make sure I was right.
“I had to go and get a doctor’s certificate to play again.
“Everything was all good and everything is all good now.”
His teammate James Carrigan thinks the rule change is a good idea.
“I think it is fine to change it to three weeks,” the 18-yearold Carrigan said.
“The researchers know best, family said he had hallucinations, which are voices, and was on the verge of dementia. He lost his motor skills and memory and was very confused.
DANNY FRAWLEY (AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL):
Played 240 senior matches for St Kilda between 1984 and it is their jobs to make sure we are looked after properly.
“Doesn’t bother me and, fingers crossed, it doesn’t in the future.”
If a player has multiple concussions in a year, the AIS will look to sideline them for the season.
Another Demons colts player, Brodie Cornish, agrees with the extended time on the sidelines.
“I think it is a pretty good idea,” Cornish, 17, said.
“It is a pretty significant issue we are facing, not just in AFL but all sports.
“I have never been concussed but I have seen a few people get concussed and it doesn’t look great at all.
“If you get concussed multiple times in a year and have to sit out for the season, as much 1995. In 2019, he took his own life by driving his car into a tree. Five years earlier, he had a mental health breakdown and was referred to a psychiatrist. During this breakdown he did not sleep for about three weeks, could not function and became childlike.
PETER MAGUIRE (AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL):
Known as ‘Wombat’, Maguire sustained multiple concussions in one game of AFL that triggered a “lifechanging tidal wave of medical events”. He suffers from psychological conditions such as sleep disturbance, as I would hate it, they are only looking out for us.”
Lachlan Douherty, 19, thinks the rule change is a bit tough.
“It depends how far apart the concussions are, I reckon,” Douherty said.
“If you get a concussion, miss three weeks, then come back and get concussed that first week back, then sure.
“But if you get concussed round 1 and then in like round 15, I don’t think it’s fair.
“You could miss finals after playing pretty much the whole season.”
Carrigan disagrees with his fellow Demon.
“I think it is a good thing, it is keeping kids safe,” Carrigan said.
“It is making sure their brains are working properly when they are older.” depression and anxiety.
LYDIA PINGEL (AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL):
Former player in Queensland’s premier women’s competition. Suffered multiple head knocks in her playing days. Has a cognitive impairment and suffers from persistent postconcussion syndrome.
JOSEPH DIDULICA (SOCCER):
Former goalkeeper who represented Australia at under 23 level and Croatia. Experienced a number of head knocks that left him unable to remember what happened or who his family members were. Still suffers from headaches and migraines.