Injury and illness

[Presti35]

So when they said 8-9 Weeks, that was.... not true?

[Pies4shaw]

^ It seems they said he "was a chance" to be back in 8 weeks. Speaking analytically, 0.000000000001% is still "a chance".

Contrast with a suggestion of Peter McKenna being "a chance" to kick 150 goals for Collingwood this season - that would obviously be untrue so long as Peter isn't on our list.

[Presti35]

Well its unsettling that we're hearing there is no timeline... Especially after thinking we could only be looking at a further 8 weeks.

I dont think we'll be looking at retirement, but I hope he comes back the same player.

The quote is:

[Albert Parker]

Greenwood isn't 20+ weeks away at all based upon the volume of running I have seen him doing. Starting to change direction too. ACL's don't take as long to recover from these days. Use quad muscles rather than hamstrings which are more robust. Much of the recovery time for players in the past was actually rehabilitating the hamstring which had been trimmed.

[glasseyevfx]

[BazBoy]

I’ve read comments (not here) that the training and fitness staff has been revamped and results to game readiness is on the improve.
Two players who should get game time ( limited as a precaution) Stevo and JDG
If I had one thing needed change from last few seasons is less players in sick bay —a full stable makes us more able

[BazBoy]

I’ve read comments (not hear) that the training and fitness staff has been revamped and results to game readiness is on the improve.
Two players who should get game time ( limited as a precaution) Stevo and JDG
If I had one thing needed change from last few seasons is less players in sick bay —a full stable makes us more able

[Presti35]

How dare you read anything other than Nicks!

[BazBoy]

🙈🙈

[K]

CTE discovered in Polly Farmer's brain in AFL-first

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/cte-discovered-in-polly-farmer-s-brain-in-landmark-afl-first-20200226-p544oq.html

'In a strongly worded conclusion to the paper, Buckland and his co-authors describe CTE as an “occupational health issue” for those playing collision sports.

“That (CTE) exists at all should serve as a call to action to recognise and research CTE and the very clear association with a repetitive head injury.

“Claims of a lack of demonstrated ‘causality’ are unhelpful, and arguably irrelevant when assessing a public and occupational health issue as CTE.”'

[K]

Why Farmer's CTE diagnosis is a knock to the AFL

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/why-farmer-s-cte-diagnosis-is-a-knock-to-the-afl-20200227-p544vv.html

"Farmer's diagnosis with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is the single biggest event since concussion and head injuries became a major issue for the AFL over the past decade.
...

Farmer's finding has happened amid a kind of scientific culture war that pits one group - alarmists or truth tellers, depending on one's perspective - who believe the head injury impact on players is significant and endemic with others who tend to talk down the extent of proven long-term health problems. The former camp, which obviously wants players compensated, think of their opponents as denialists."

[K]

Player agent fears a new generation of ‘Polly’ Farmers

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/player-agent-fears-a-new-generation-of-polly-farmers-20200227-p544tu.html

"Jess earlier said he feared that the game will have a new generation of “Polly” Farmers if stricter protocols aren’t put in place by the league.

“The AFL’s own research said that 73 per cent of the past player cohort is suffering from some form of neurological impairment,” Jess told SEN on Thursday morning.

“When we did our testing regime, we found that in fact it could be as high as 80.”
...

One particular case which brought into sharp focus for Jess just how serious the issue is was that of a 35-year-old affected former player being advised to undergo electroshock therapy.

“Something is wrong in our sport. That is like a sledgehammer to a walnut, but this was diagnosed by health professionals and this person underwent eight sessions of ECT under general anaesthetic,” Jess said."

[K]

AFL should consider baseline brain testing, enforce longer breaks after concussion: researcher

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-should-consider-baseline-brain-testing-enforce-longer-breaks-after-concussion-researcher-20200228-p545ae.html

'Dr Rowena Mobbs, who is also a CTE expert at Macquarie University, said testing a player's brain health via an MRI and neuropsychology testing at the start of their career, and then following up at regular intervals, was likely to be beneficial in protecting sports stars' wellbeing.

"The gold standard baseline testing would be a neurology review with neuro imaging, most likely MRI as it doesn’t carry the radiation that a PET scan does for example," Dr Mobbs said.'

[K]

Tim Boyle:

The new form of courage may be to not play at all

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/sport-thought-the-new-form-of-courage-may-be-to-not-play-at-all-20200229-p545lu.html

"The question about the existence of CTE appears to have been answered, if not here then quite definitively in the US. The next question for football is this: will the risks taken by the courageous players of the sport be considered stupid and irresponsible, or will they be revered more than ever, knowing as we do that the risk is real?

Despite the modern insistence that football is some kind of puzzle to be solved, the whole thing still swings on the abandonment of thought to action, on decisions rather than imagination, and on the present instead of the future.
...

Beyond their basic symbolism, one can contextualise the power of those moments by admitting that everything that is prepared for, and practiced, in the game is secondary to the threat of embarrassment. Every player who ever played league football did so under the threat of embarrassment, in one form or another, and there is no faster way to achieve it than by demonstrable cowardice on the field.
...

Luke Ball used to sit in the rooms before league games and visualise getting carried off by trainers. When the moment came, he felt “mentally prepared” to take risks, and to come back onto the ground after being, in his words, “shit-mixed”.
...

No one has ever much cared for the footballer’s brain, neither that he might have one capable of functioning in symphony with his body, nor that it might be injured or ruined for the sake of entertainment. The footballer has always been revered for his courage in youth and generally pitied for what he becomes in later life. The language of the game will change, but not this rule.

It’s likely that the new form of courage will be to not play at all."

[PyreneesPie]

Thanks for these article links K.

Sheesh, if I was playing footy at any level, I'd be extremely concerned about my long term health!!!! I can't imagine what the likes of Liam Picken and Paddy McCarten must be feeling right now.

The AFL definitely has a big duty of care to ensure that all its players are rested adequately after a concussion, more carefully screened before returning to the game and monitored for longer.

It will be interesting to see what the PA does about it too.