AFL demands three clubs explain concussion management

The AFL will give Carlton, Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions opportunities to explain their handling of player head knocks before handing down potential sanctions.

The league will also continue to discuss whether to introduce independent AFL doctors at games after a series of contentious events in round 19.

On Monday, the AFL sent Carlton a “please explain” letter regarding their management of star forward Harry McKay after a head knock.

Adelaide and Brisbane have also been asked to explain their management of the league’s concussion protocols after incidents involving Crows skipper Jordan Dawson and Lions co-captain Harris Andrews respectively.

McKay took a hit to the face in a marking contest with North Melbourne player Eddie Ford at Marvel Stadium on Sunday, which left the Blues goal-kicker groggy.

The 26-year-old was slow to get to his feet but continued playing, kicking a major before being called off the field for a head injury assessment.

He passed the test and returned to the action, adding a second goal late in the match to seal Carlton’s important 19-point victory.

Carlton coach Michael Voss defended the club’s handling of McKay, who had also told Fox Footy post-match he was “fine”.

A Blues spokesperson on Monday confirmed McKay has since passed further tests and is set to back up against Port Adelaide on Friday night.

Dawson copped a high knock from Essendon’s Nate Caddy in the third quarter of Friday night’s thriller, also at Marvel Stadium.

He was dazed and was checked by medicos but didn’t leave the field for a concussion assessment at the time.

Dawson left the field in the fourth quarter and was later placed in concussion protocols.

Andrews entered concussion protocols on Monday, with Brisbane clarifying the key defender sustained his concussion during the final seconds of his team’s win over Sydney.

It was confirmed after the club’s medical team conducted a head injury assessment.

In a statement, the Lions also said Andrews had been cleared of concussion from a separate incident earlier in the match, by passing a compulsory SCAT6 test.

Andrews will miss Saturday’s derby against Gold Coast.

AFL general manager of football operations Josh Mahoney said the league will talk through the separate situations with Carlton, Adelaide and Brisbane.

“It’s just questioning,” Mahoney told the AFL website.

“We’ve got these protocols in place for a reason and we’re just asking the questions about the scenario around what happened.

“And then when we get that information we’ll make an assessment.”

When asked if there could potentially be sanctions down the track, Mahoney said: “Yeah, we just give all these clubs an opportunity to talk through what has happened and then we’ll make a decision off the back of that.”

Mahoney made a point of hailing the quality of AFL club doctors.

“Every club’s got two doctors there. We understand they’re very busy, there’s a lot going on in games and they’re always the patient first, and in this case, player-led in decision-making,” he said.

“But we’re all about the process and that’s just all the questions we’ll be asking, about process.”

Given in McKay’s situation, Carlton’s doctors were dealing with multiple injured players at once, the prospect of AFL-employed independent doctors has again been floated.

“It has come up and it is something we may look at,” Mahoney said.

“You can see that there’s lots of things that go on in a game. When you have two doctors, sometimes there’s one doctor downstairs attending a player and other things.

“So it is a conversation we want to keep having.”