Winners Only
Cancelled
- Oct 16, 2003
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- AFL Club
- GWS
After reading the Sam Blease article on the AFL site where concussion ended his career prematurely it got me thinking about WHY dont more AFL players wear protective head wear. I believe its a cultural stigma issue where players dont want to be seen wearing them.
Daniel McKenzie is a classic case in question after how many concussions he had last year was it 4? If I was on the medical team at the Saints I would make it mandatory that he wore head gear to protect him against further knocks.
The NRL is a heavier contact sport than the AFL yet for some reason the AFL have just as many if not more concussions injuries than the NRL. Yet a large number of NRL players wear protective head wear and they are not questioned - why is it such an ego thing for AFL. Jonathon Thurston is the best league player in the world and he has worn head gear for years after a spate of concussion injuries and it hasnt effected his game or ego.
Wearing head gear is compulsory in junior NRL but how many AFL kids do you see wearing protective gear.
The yanks did studies on their players after suffering years of concussion and proved that it lead to large ratio of players suffing depression in years following the careers.
Smarten up Saints & AFL its a work health issue and make it compulsory for players with a history of concussion to wear protective head wear. The stigma and egos seem to inhibit there wearing so make it compulsory for the sake of these kids health and long term futures!
Daniel McKenzie is a classic case in question after how many concussions he had last year was it 4? If I was on the medical team at the Saints I would make it mandatory that he wore head gear to protect him against further knocks.
The NRL is a heavier contact sport than the AFL yet for some reason the AFL have just as many if not more concussions injuries than the NRL. Yet a large number of NRL players wear protective head wear and they are not questioned - why is it such an ego thing for AFL. Jonathon Thurston is the best league player in the world and he has worn head gear for years after a spate of concussion injuries and it hasnt effected his game or ego.
Wearing head gear is compulsory in junior NRL but how many AFL kids do you see wearing protective gear.
The yanks did studies on their players after suffering years of concussion and proved that it lead to large ratio of players suffing depression in years following the careers.
Smarten up Saints & AFL its a work health issue and make it compulsory for players with a history of concussion to wear protective head wear. The stigma and egos seem to inhibit there wearing so make it compulsory for the sake of these kids health and long term futures!