No painful delays to be endured

THE AFL is confident no player will face a long wait to go to a Perth hospital if required on Friday night after following up an incident involving GWS Giants’ Zach Sproule.

The league has held talks with Western Australian authorities to ensure the process can be sped up so any player who suffered a serious injury won’t be delayed medical treatment.

The Herald Sun revealed on Saturday that Sproule waited for almost an hour for an ambulance to take him to hospital on Friday night after dislocating his shoulder against the Cats.

The Giants were unhappy the red tape surrounding police checks and Covid-19 protocols slowed Sproule’s ambulance ride to hospital and feared for what could happen to any player which suffered a more serious injury.

Richmond star Dustin Martin suffered a lacerated kidney this season and was quickly taken to hospital, ensuring he did not face a life-threatening situation.

But the AFL has followed up the Sproule incident and has tightened the process to ensure no player requiring immediate medical treatment will be put at risk or delayed hospital treatment or imaging.

“The AFL has worked through the situation with the GWS Giants and other relevant parties and has rectified the issue ahead of any future matches played under quarantine directions in the 2021 Toyota AFL Finals Series,” an AFL spokesperson said.

The Demons and the Cats have remained under restrictions for Friday night’s preliminary final.