Should 18-19 year olds not be ashamed of wearing head gear after the Gaff/Brayshaw incident?

[The_Ru]

There is only a small difference in bone mineral density between a fit and healthy 19 year old male and a fit and healthy 30 year old male. I doubt it would be enough to result in a broken jaw from the Gaff hit for Brayshaw at 19 vs no break for Brayshaw at 30.

In general I'm not sure if your questions about legal culpability etc. are serious. The comparison with getting hit with a cricket ball is misguided at best.

 

[00Stinger]

All players undr 21 must be bubble wrapped before they run out onto the field

 

[T G M]

All players undr 21 must be bubble wrapped before they run out onto the field

Another great post mate. That seems like a good idea at first.

If you give it a little more thought there may be some mobility issues. Would their arms and legs be wrapped separately from the torso? Or just around the whole body as one?
I can imagine there might be some difficulty with chest marks bouncing off the body as well.
High flying marks may actually be easier with more air around the body assisting elevation.

There could be some breathing difficulties as well, holes in the bubble wrap would almost certainly need to be cut around the players mouths to lessen the number of deaths by suffocation. This would of course render the athletes more vulnerable to jaw breakages.

I think you may have to put some more thought into this. Perhaps some sort of built in motor vehicle air bag type contraptions?

Maybe the AFL could trial some of the aforementioned in the last few rounds?

 

[Jim Prideaux]

Wore headgear when I played rugby, protect my ears in the scrum and my head in rucks. What happened to Brayshaw? Would’ve been as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle.

 

[HTT]

I don’t think anyone should be ashamed of wearing headgear, I also reckon that incident has SFA to do with it.

 

[Farm Boy]

So are some saying Bradshaw did not contribute to getting his jaw broken by not wearing head gear as a 18-19 year old?

No one is saying that, and the way you have worded that has just done my head in.

Head gear seems a fashion regarding the aftermath of concussion incidents ala Angus Bradshaw but what about preventive measures regarding strikes averting broken jaws like Andrew Bradshaw?

Firstly, it is Brayshaw - not Bradshaw. Secondly, head hear used for impact incidents can make sense (as these incidents happen a lot). But how often does a player get their jaw broken from a punch? Not often, and would a helmet protect from that? Probably not. There is no evidence a helmet even protects from impact incidents, as some suggest it can cause players to lead with their head as they think they are protected (they aren't).

Legally speaking, did Andrew Bradshaw, by not wearing headgear as an 18-19 year old, invite others to break his jaw? Interesting to get a legal opinion after hearing Doctors and physicians viewpoint!

Victim blaming at its finest. Andrew Brayshaw didn't contribute to this incident at all. Even if he had headgear on he would be nursing a broken jaw. A person not wearing head gear is in no way correlated to inviting a person to smash their head in.

It is interesting when one considers and 18-19 year old would not usually be brave enough to agitate a Barry Hall!

No. It is not interesting at all. If Gaff is agitated by Brayshaw playing within the rules of the game then that is Andrew Gaff's problem. It is not the problem of Andrew Brayshaw, and he didn't deserve to be smashed in the face for playing the game within the rules.

 

[hoianbulldog]

I thought now is a good time to have a sensible discussion about the incident since the emotive types are about to leave the building!!

Is it fair, as an observer, to suggest the incident had greater repercussions health wise because Bradshaw was so young and still developing and therefore risk wise he was more conducive to a broken jaw?? This is an invitation to all health experts including physicians and Doctors to have their say? For example, am I right in saying if Brayshaw was replaced by Luke Hodge in the act, Luke Hodge's jaw replaces Brayshaw's jaw does the Luke Hodge's jaw get broken and is that due to age and development???

As a distant observer I fail to see the Gaff strike as vicious and powerful as the Barry Hall strike on Staker but he probably had a longer wind up. However, I think he was probably targeting another area in the moment and a contributing factor to the result was Brayshaw's age and the fact his body including the head was still developing and getting stronger.

If Brayshaw's age and development was a contributing factor to the result of the strike, and given the identification of the head as an important area to be protected, should 18 and 19 year olds playing AFL be encouraged to wear head gear(not mandatory). I am not in the camp for holding back talent so I have no issue with 18 year olds starring in the AFL at a young age but should they be encouraged to wear head gear as a form of relevant protection and to mitigate risk to their footy careers and overall health?

Anyway, I thought adding a poll below was quiet relevant for the viewers to make their opinion known.

Medically and legally speaking why is this not the equivalent regarding health risk at a particular age similar to a batsman protecting the jewels in cricket by wearing a box to mitigate the real risk of a cricket ball strike in the sensitive area???

Fmd.

 

[Scotland]

Wore headgear when I played rugby, protect my ears in the scrum and my head in rucks. What happened to Brayshaw? Would’ve been as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle.

This.

Angus Brayshaw's headgear is designed to protect against concussions. Granted there is some padding around the the upper jaw but chin strap would offer no protection whatsoever to a punch to the chin. Andrew Brayshaw could've copped a fractured eye socket, broken nose etc. and his brother's helmet wouldn't have have made a shred of difference.