It’s early in the NRL season, and the AFL men’s opening round has barely begun, but already the biggest issue on and off the field is concussion.
More than 60 former AFL players who sustained concussions during their careers are part of a class action filed in the Victorian supreme court this week, seeking up to $2m per player for pain, suffering, financial loss and medical expenses due to their injuries. The same day the papers were lodged, the AFL released its new guidelines for the management of concussion in its elite codes and its four-year concussion strategy, including a 10-year, $25m study into the long-term effects of head injury on players.
