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Concussion rule: is there scope for gamesmanship?

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rapido

All Australian
Jan 28, 2008
919
865
Melbourne
AFL Club
Geelong
Would anyone be surprised if comes finals time a team gets a player off the ground, say half way through the second quarter under the concussion rule, get a sub on for a burst until half time, get the concussed player back on in the third quarter and re-introduce a sub in the final quarter for a different player for another quick burst? I think that would be a good way to maximize the team's rotations and get the double impact from the sub. Of course, this wouldn't be ethical but if it helps a team win a finals game would a team resort to such manipulation?
 
I'm amazed more teams don't do this.
 

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North scammed it yesterday. Adams clearly injured his shoulder, but because there was slight contact made to the head (his eye I think), they were able to take him down to the rooms and have a sub come on claiming it was concussion.

Didn't work as Jacobs did nothing when he was first subbed on, but it's still the clearest case I've seen of a club deliberately taking advantage of the pink vest/concussion rule.
 
It's not something you could get away with often, but I think it won't be long until any sort of decent head knock and they'd be telling players to come to the bench to the coach/trainers who already know the player isn't concussed, but have them decide if they want to use the "free sub" for a while and just go through the motions knowing full well they'll have the player back out there in no time.

Like I said, you obviously couldn't do it all the time, you'd have to pick and choose your head knocks and only do it every few games I would think. Also, do you get a free interchange if someone comes off suspected injured?

I was playing league once and had someone slide into a tackle late and knee me in the back in the head, blacked out for a moment. Once I was up though the trainer kept telling me to just stay down so the boys could get a breather, the "free sub" would just be an exaggerated version of doing that.

Not saying I particularly like the idea, but I could see it happening.
 
I think the AFL should employ an independent doctor to participate in the initial assessment and sign off on the concussion sub being implemented. I'd be surprised if a club isn't already required to provide a report as to the symptoms that the player was showing to necessitate the concussion sub coming on, particularly if he gets the all-clear, shortly after. And it would be nice to think that a doctor's professional integrity would override his club allegiance.
 
Learning from other sports, any sub rule with exceptions/clauses relating to injuries has been exploited at one time or another so I don't expect the concussion rule to be any different.

Anyone remember the English rugby team Harlequins deliberately cutting one of their players in order to sub him off under a blood rule when all of their subs had been used?
 
North scammed it yesterday. Adams clearly injured his shoulder, but because there was slight contact made to the head (his eye I think), they were able to take him down to the rooms and have a sub come on claiming it was concussion.

Didn't work as Jacobs did nothing when he was first subbed on, but it's still the clearest case I've seen of a club deliberately taking advantage of the pink vest/concussion rule.

I am shocked to hear an allegation about North Melbourne not following the letter of the law in regards to concussion.

I am certain they will provide full cooperation with any AFL investigation.
 
Huge avenue here for some creative medical analysis. That being said, not sure any doctor would deliberately say someone had concussion when they didn't just to get a sub

It's not about saying they had concussion - in fact they do that and the player is lost for the game.

It's about saying - we want to test a player and then giving them a 10 minute breather
 
Plenty of room for gamesmanship, but requires a certain set if circumstances for it to happen. Namely, a head knock to a player that is not critical (eg you wouldn't want Joel Selwood or Scott Pendlebury off the ground for any longer than what they had to be).

Similarly in a gamesmanship sense, in the latter rounds of the season, or even finals, could a player who has received a knock be given a worse medical report to increase the likelihood of an opponent being suspended if the two teams were likely to meet again that season?
 

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Concussion rule: is there scope for gamesmanship?


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