The AFL enters a concussive new season still stumbling around

Australian football has the highest concussion rate of any team sport in the world, but players (including children) continue to face serious risk of brain damage in every match, writes Brian Hennessy.

Australia is a sports-loving country and AFL most watched sport.

for him first 86 yearsThe VFL/AFL was a domestic Australian football competition based in Melbourne. Former actor in 1977 Allen Aylett He was narrowly elected President of the VFL on a platform of creating a national competition, starting with the South Melbourne Swans. moving to sydney In 1982. Today the AFL is one of the most successful sports leagues in the world. The AFL itself (excluding member clubs) is a annual income A sum of over $1 billion, about two-thirds of which comes from TV rights. IT does not pay taxes on this income. former CEO Gillon McLachlan He announced his departure in 2023 due to the sport’s “poor health”. Current CEO, Andrew DillonHe said the game was played recently “incredible shape”.

The uncomfortable truth facing the AFL is that the sport is a high-risk, dangerous activity and that the sport has now generally transitioned into an era where there is a strong focus on safety: boxing is now marginalized (remember). TV Ring Side (before color TV), Formula 1 has gone from 15 deaths to fewer than one per decade, and batsmen in cricket now wear helmets. further, concussionThis disease, which was thought to be completely reversible until the 1990s, is now accepted to cause lifelong damage to the brain, leading to early-onset diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Parkinson’s, MND or seizures. No one signs up for permanent, progressive brain damage. Not all risks in sport can be eliminated, but sport must not be allowed to destroy lives.

Trustworthy research studies Australian football highest concussion rate any team sport in the world

(Source: completeconcussions.com)

It also has these features: highest average number Number of significant head impacts per player per match (29), compared to 14 in Rugby and American football. Repeated semi-concussive head blows, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), degenerative and irreversible brain damage that is not diagnosed until after death or treatment. The problem is that people don’t know they have CTE. Concussion hospitalizations in junior AFL have doubled in the last decade and are the most common injury in the sport (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). Unfortunately, GPs and hospital emergency departments across Australia do not have consistent diagnosis/reporting protocols for sports-induced traumatic brain injury and therefore the full extent of the problem is unknown. unknown.

Australia has long been a world leader in public health (seat belts, tobacco, sunburn, guns, vaccines) but there is one important area of ​​concern for experts, including the founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF). Doctor Chris NowinskiLet’s say we surpass other developed countries: sports-related traumatic brain injury (TBI). More than 750,000 Australians, according to the ABS have brain damage Two out of every three people become injured before the age of 25. Most concussions in adolescence occur while playing sports. Children need a brain throughout their lives. Research conducted by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Data from more than 90,000 children with concussions shows that children take twice as long to recover as adults: ‘Children with concussions cannot be managed like adults.’ in australiaBy the age of 16, more than 20% of children will have suffered a concussion. What’s more, up to 90% of concussions in football go unreported.

Experts state Anyone who has played AFL or rugby at any level for five or more years is a candidate for CTE. Independently released globally Studies show that Athletes who play contact sports are at least 68 times more likely to develop CTE than those who do not play contact sports. If you pay lip service to concussions and CTE, the result is dead men walking.

Suicide leading cause of death among young Australians. Risk of attempting suicide three to four times higher in severe TBI patients compared to the general population.

Medical authorities alarmed: Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) groundbreaking ‘Position Statement on CTE‘ he said in late 2023.

‘There is an urgent need to prevent chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), especially for children/adolescents. As a society, despite significant evidence, we continue to subject boys and girls, young men and women, to devastating harm throughout their lives. The RCPA recommends that low-contact or non-contact versions of the sport be played by youth. This is especially true for school sports.’

in 2023 A study conducted by Macquarie University Researchers examined the academic performance of thousands of students across the country who were hospitalized with concussions. They found that 77% of those who sustained a serious head injury were less likely to finish Year 12.

Doctor Bennet Omaluwhose work film concussion was based, kids say They should not play contact sports until they are 18 years old:

“Allowing children to play football is akin to child abuse.”

Chris Nowinski stated, “There is no reason for children to play adult contact sports.” Nowinski’s position Should Australia stop? “I hit the children’s heads” and move faster on concussion education, rule changes and implementation of long-term care for athletes to meet international standards.

Basic Shaking Principle “If in doubt, stay away”. There is a huge amount of skepticism surrounding TBI!

Australian parents vote with their feet. In 1990 football and AFL in Australia had about the same number of participants. Football now has three times as many players as the AFL and basketball twice as many.

in the USA, flag football This fastest growing team sport There are far more players in the country than are in contact with NFL football, and their numbers are dwindling rapidly (studies show 96% of NFL elite players have CTE) and Flag will be included in the 2028 LA Olympic Games. There is a fight with football 23 times the number High intensity head impacts compared to Flag. I play football every 2.6 years (starting from youth) doubles the risk from CTE.

In the UK, the Government has now mandated consistent concussion protocols across all sports, a concussion passport for all contact sports participants, and appointed a concussion in 2025. Independent Football Editor Carrying sports into the future.

Sports safety is currently poorly regulated in Australia. Self-regulation of the top football institutions has not been successful. Each sport does its own thing. Why doesn’t the AFL take concussion seriously? Concussions are bad for business. The AFL dropped the ball on its core obligation: to provide players with an appropriate duty of care. With all this money in sports, why have players fallen behind in getting a safe workplace? Top football organizations have a conflict of interest between entertainment money (rivers of gold) and players’ healthcare.

AFL says made more than 30 changes to the rules to address concussion (CTE was ignored). Unfortunately, concussions are not decreasing at the elite level; AFLPA surveys show more than 30% of all AFL players suffer a concussion each year, and at junior/community level this is increasing. Penalties for non-football actions are insufficient.

73% Past AFL players have daily issues linked to concussion. Many of yesterday’s heroes do not remember the important moments of their careers, have lost their families, cannot work, have problems such as loss of identity, anger, anxiety, depression and early-onset dementia. and worse, they often struggle to get support from the AFLPA.

The AFL’s neglect of past players creates a sporting underclass where many suffer in silence, many with very poor quality of life. Professional athletes in Australia not legalInsurance or income protection for TBI. So the situation is that participants in AFL football, the world’s most dangerous team sport in terms of TBI, have the least protection/support of any group in the entire Australian workforce.

The AFL has a poor record of managing concussion. His main advisor for twenty years, Doctor Paul McCrory, rejected there was a connection between a blow to the head and a concussion. A past program that tested 550 players yielded no results. The AFL’s return-to-play protocols (12 days) are arbitrary and, like player testing, outdated. The AFL “Big Tobacco” culture is to deflect/deny/delay/distort the reality of TBI. It controls the narrative through the daily media stream that demystifies the crisis.

inside current class action by past players against AFL AFL defense claims that “the players themselves” are responsible ‘health and welfare and ensuring players know the risk of injury before taking to the field’.

TBI (Concussion and CTE) is the number one problem in collision sports worldwide. It is the silent killer that destroys families. Unfortunately, the management of TBI in Australia is akin to the Wild West: it is seriously out of control. Lately Senate Inquiry into Concussion and CTE in Sports heard all the heartbreaking stories but took no decisive action.

Where to from here?

The medical science freight train is about to crash into the AFL: in 5-8 years CTE can be diagnosed in vivo. And concussions will be diagnosed in real time. When children are diagnosed with CTE from participation in AFL or Rugby it will be a very different future for these sports. Children will stop playing these sports. Children need a brain throughout their lives. Parents will not play chicken with their child’s brain. (Notes: Keith Titmus’ death in NRL is the canary in the coal mine.)

So what to do for a better future? The AFL needs to solve its biggest problem: making the sport safer. Save the player, save the game. Prevention is better than cure because often there is no cure for brain damage.

A plan to make sports safer without diminishing public interest could include:

1. An independent national sports health and safety commission will be established: consistent best practice TBI testing and RTP protocols valid across all sports*.
2. A national TBI data strategy: consistent approaches by all GPs/emergency departments, TBI passport for all participants in collision sports*
3. AFL: non-contact versions for all juniors (e.g. AFL Superkick for 8-12 year olds, AFL9 for 13+).
4. Non-contact training followed by limited contact for all players during pre-season.
5. Cancellation rule in matches for non-football actions (According to Scott Pendlebury); no suspension/high risk tackle.
6. The AFL will establish best-practice concussion management systems: systemic best-practice screening testing program for all players. Confirm brain normalization before RTT.
7. National TBI sports safety awareness program for parents, clubs and schools*.
8. Affordable care for past players (free lifetime health insurance/testing, workers’ compensation, income protection, duty of care, injury insurance)*.
9. Consistent TBI/concussion testing/training centers should be established in all states*

(*Government action required)

John Hennessy is a former VFL/AFL corporate planner and was involved in taking the game nationally in the 1980s with the rationalization of the ground, teams in Sydney and Brisbane and the establishment of the VFL Commission. As of February 2026, John is currently a board member. Community Concussion Research Foundationa non-profit charity organization.

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