Tom McCartin having serious concussion issues

[RUNVS]

Sydney Swans young gun Tom McCartin will undergo further testing next week after suffering a clash at training.

McCartin suffered a knock a few weeks ago that has restricted his training since.

He did not take part in Sydney’s practice match against GWS in Blacktown.

The 19-year-old is undergoing further testing to understand the injury, however until that testing takes place the club cannot speculate on the extent of the injury.

The Sydney Swans will provide a further update when appropriate details are available.

https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2019-02-22/tom-mccartin-update

and



apparently Brown said on channel 7 that it is certainly potentially season ending, perhaps even career threatening.

Now I know McCartin has only played 15 games for the Swans, and I know many people will say this is a Swans board topic but I feel like it is worthy of discussion on the main board, especially given that his older brother has also had serious concussion issues the last few years, which either means Tom and Paddy are very unlucky, or, more likely, somehow this is genetic, and that both McCartin's are more susceptible to concussions than the average person.

I really hope Tom comes good as he was amazing last year considering he was 18 and playing as a key position forward. His marking ability was especially good. He has a potentially long career in the AFL ahead of him, but if the concussion is as bad as Brown implied I hope he retires, as no AFL career is worth suffering through decades and decades of brain damage.

It makes me wonder though, as we have had around 3 or 4 players retire in recent years because of concussion issues, about how many players in the 80's, 90's and even 2000's continued playing AFL when they should have retired because of concussion issues, but no one at the time knew of the seriousness of the issue. Looking back at games from even 2010 it almost feels medieval how the AFL and clubs handled concussions.

 

[Kwality]

A main board issue for sure .... shocker of a subject that it is for the footy community.

I go back to Bert Thornley, a member of Carltons 'Teddy Hopkins' premiership side in the VFL days, thats a different story, but Bert wore a helmet.

 

[00Stinger]

Might be a genetic thing with the McCartins.

I have heard of testing they do in America which can determine people who are more susceptible to head/brain problems.

I dont really know the full details though

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Hamingja]

Would be a super unlucky family if it wasn't a genetic issue. Is there enough known about it to say people with a particularly shaped skull or thickness of skull or something contributes to making someone more susceptible. Kade Kolo has had all sorts of issues while I don't think Jake Kolo has had any. Being twins would make a good study you'd think.

 

[The Warlord]

There's a study coming out soon from the states, run by USgov and the NCAA, that is set to really shake up how contact sports deal with concussion, especially in cases like the McCartin boys.

 

[jwikked]

There's a study coming out soon from the states, run by USgov and the NCAA, that is set to really shake up how contact sports deal with concussion, especially in cases like the McCartin boys.

What can you realistically do to help? Give them 6 months - 12 months off after a concussion? Make it touch football without any hard hits?

 

[hoianbulldog]

Liam Picken hasnt played for 12 months due to multiple concussion. Couldnt even train.

I really hope he retires. It is not worth the risk.

 

[StillAtLarge]

Would be a super unlucky family if it wasn't a genetic issue. Is there enough known about it to say people with a particularly shaped skull or thickness of skull or something contributes to making someone more susceptible. Kade Kolo has had all sorts of issues while I don't think Jake Kolo has had any. Being twins would make a good study you'd think.

Kade copped the biggest hit to the head I've seen in 25+ years of watching afl. I'd say that has a fair bit to do with it, not some kind of genetic discrepancy compared to his twin

 

[Belnakor]

Kade copped the biggest hit to the head I've seen in 25+ years of watching afl. I'd say that has a fair bit to do with it, not some kind of genetic discrepancy compared to his twin

Basically a flying knee to the back of the head could easily have killed him. Don’t think it even got weeks?

 

[Isaac Cumming No 1]

There might be a physical element to susceptibility to concussion, that's genetic.

I think playing style is the bigger issue. Sometimes it's just too much courage. The game values players getting their head over the footy in the contest, but they also need an instinct for self preservation.

Matt Buntine had repeated serious concussions a couple of years ago, and has successfully adjusted his game. Less of the suicidal attack on the footy these days. I expect most clubs have players like this in a culture that values courage.

I think the game is heading the way of players having to retire after serious concussion issues though. As are all contact sports. It has to be led by medical practitioners exercising best practice to get the best outcome for the player.

 

[Kappa]

I really hope that player who have had concussions in the past realise that's there's more important things in life than diving head 1st for the Footy... You can still be a good player without a suicidal attack on the Footy.

 

[Yojimbo]

I find Angus Brayshaw from Melbourne an interesting player to watch, straps on the helmet and he seems to
be better then you see research that helmets do nothing and you wonder what is going on. Geelong's Joel
Selwood I have seen looking dazed and staring vacantly ahead, and the game had not even started he was
at the top of the race about to come on. In rugby players regularly suffered neck injuries in the scrum and
now they just pay it lip service and don't push maybe AFL was not meant to be played at such a frenetic
pace, maybe that is why the oval is so big. In contact sports there will always be injuries, but why don't we
ever hear how can your best player (Tom Mitchell) break his leg so badly in a January tackling drill. AFL
avoids having difficult conversations much like the WWE with Chris Benoit this needs to change.

 

[Isaac Cumming No 1]

I find Angus Brayshaw from Melbourne an interesting player to watch, straps on the helmet and he seems to
be better then you see research that helmets do nothing and you wonder what is going on. Geelong's Joel
Selwood I have seen looking dazed and staring vacantly ahead, and the game had not even started he was
at the top of the race about to come on. In rugby players regularly suffered neck injuries in the scrum and
now they just pay it lip service and don't push maybe AFL was not meant to be played at such a frenetic
pace, maybe that is why the oval is so big. In contact sports there will always be injuries, but why don't we
ever hear how can your best player (Tom Mitchell) break his leg so badly in a January tackling drill. AFL
avoids having difficult conversations much like the WWE with Chris Benoit this needs to change.

Overly simplistic about Rugby, which encompasses two games.

Rugby league persisted with "even" scrums for a long period that were a schemozzle and impossible to ref. Once they adopted the loose head coaches lost interest in scrummaging and selected players who were best in general play. It would probably be dangerous to put weight into the drums today with front rowers not selected for the physical attributes, ie short thick neck.

In Rugby there has always been a loose head but the scrums are used more as an attacking platform and remain hotly contested. There is asafety provision that is frequently used to have uncontested scrums if a team loses specialist front rowers to injury or being sent off.

These days at the Rugby world cup teams that get there generally have a competent scrum. In the early years transitioning from amateurism it could be seriously dangerous with a big mismatch in scrum power. Teams like the all backs have deliberately left their best props out as a safety measure in the past.

 

[RUNVS]

There's a study coming out soon from the states, run by USgov and the NCAA, that is set to really shake up how contact sports deal with concussion, especially in cases like the McCartin boys.

More information is desperately needed. Things like accurately predicting who is more predisposed to concussion issues or finding better ways to combat the problem such as new and improved helmets would be massive for the industry.

I do anticipate a problem though because I could imagine with all the draft medical testing being done on 17 year olds that there will come a time when a player is not drafted solely because they tested him and found out he was more likely to get concussions than the average person. In the future someone like Liam Picken might never get drafted.

 

[owen87]

Kade copped the biggest hit to the head I've seen in 25+ years of watching afl. I'd say that has a fair bit to do with it, not some kind of genetic discrepancy compared to his twin

Didn’t they say he wasn’t actually having concussion issues and there was some kind of nerve impingement that was causing the problem?

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/wh...s/news-story/c6ab93dfcbd3240346f5f15ee2689bb1

“I think it was more my neck during that period that was stirring up headaches and concussion like symptoms. My specialist cleared me of that last season and I’ve been focusing on my neck strength for the last half of the year and that’s been huge for me getting my confidence back.

 

[Yojimbo]

Overly simplistic about Rugby, which encompasses two games.

Seriously that's all you could take out of that post, there are two types of rugby.

 

[Isaac Cumming No 1]

Seriously that's all you could take out of that post, there are two types of rugby.

Perhaps dont open the door then, if that's as deep as you can go.

 

[StillAtLarge]

I really hope that player who have had concussions in the past realise that's there's more important things in life than diving head 1st for the Footy... You can still be a good player without a suicidal attack on the Footy.

I know what you're saying but I think elite athletes that dial back their aggression/intent even a smidgen lose their edge

 

[Isaac Cumming No 1]

I know what you're saying but I think elite athletes that dial back their aggression/intent even a smidgen lose their edge

Technique?

Guys like Joel Selwood and Callan Ward are noted for agression and courage in the contest while mostly avoiding head collisions.

 

[Truckosaurus]

Joel Selwood does NOT avoid head collisions

 

[Bludd]

Basically a flying knee to the back of the head could easily have killed him. Don’t think it even got weeks?

Dangerous no doubt but how can you suspend a player for attempting to take a mark?

 

[RUNVS]

Dangerous no doubt but how can you suspend a player for attempting to take a mark?

There might come a point where the knee to the back of the head in high marks will be grounds for suspension, as the back of the head is a very vulnerable place on someone.

 

[Bludd]

There might come a point where the knee to the back of the head in high marks will be grounds for suspension, as the back of the head is a very vulnerable place on someone.

Its definitely something that I could see happening. Just imagine the uproar - player safety versus traditions of the game.

 

[Andrew Mc]

Its definitely something that I could see happening. Just imagine the uproar - player safety versus traditions of the game.

It's already happening - you can't even lay a decent tackle on someone anymore.

 

[StillAtLarge]

There might come a point where the knee to the back of the head in high marks will be grounds for suspension, as the back of the head is a very vulnerable place on someone.

I guess it would fall under a 'duty of care' clause, real can of worms if they brought it in but I thought the KK hit was a disgusting effort by Lennon...he could've killed the bloke