Wayne Carey defends AFL over its tragic concussion history

Former AFL star Wayne Carey has taken a backhanded swipe at ex-AFL footballers lining up to sue the league over brain injuries they claim were caused by its negligence. 

Speaking to Channel 9 journalist Ayrton Woolley on his new podcast titled The Truth Hurts, Carey took pot shots from the cheap seats as he backed the AFL. 

‘What I do say, and this is in defence of the AFL – and people will be surprised of that, in defence of the AFL and also the players association –  I think they have moved in accordance with the science,’ he said. 

Gary Ablett Snr is suing the AFL over claims repeated knocks on the head during his career has caused him life-long issues 

Wayne Carey celebrates after winning the AFL Grand Final match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the Sydney Swans in 1996 

Footy legend Gary Ablett Senior is the latest to launch legal action against the AFL amid claims his ‘significant’ brain injuries had left him with ‘headaches and skull pressure’ since 2010, with the symptoms worsening into migraines, insomnia, blurred vision, memory loss, fatigue and severe depression. 

A who’s who of former footy players have launched legal action against the AFL over similar complaints, with a swag of clubs and club doctors included in Supreme Court writs. 

Carey, who was a dual-premiership captain at North Melbourne and seven-time All Australian, said while the AFL may have a case to answer, he did not believe players were deliberately put in harm’s way by the league, clubs or doctors. 

‘As the science has improved and as we’ve found out more and more about what concussion does to players after their career and how it affects their afterlife, I think they’ve moved in accordance with that,’ he said. 

Carey joked that he was considering taking a concussion test himself in an effort to explain away his lifetime of controversy. 

Carey’s media career came to an abrupt end in September last year after he dropped a bag of white powder on a playing table at Perth’s Crown Casino.

‘I actually would love to, I might go and have a concussion test myself. Maybe I can – tongue in cheek – blame some behaviour on it,’ he joked. 

While Carey said he believed Ablett’s claims, he insisted the AFL and club doctors had acted accordingly at the time. 

‘We had one of the very best. We had Harry Unglik. Harry Unglik would not send you back on the field if … there was science at the time to suggest that you couldn’t go back on the field,’ he said. 

‘Those guys would never send you back out. Never.’

Shane Tuck (left) in 2010 during his AFL prime. He would take his own life after struggling with brain injuries he sustained during his career 

AFL star Shane Tuck’s (left) wife Katherine (right) believes the coroner is failing to acknowledge the sins of the AFL’s past 

Carey said he would have played on after copping a big hit even if he knew what doctors know now about concussion. 

‘If I thought when I got hit really hard in a preliminary final against Brisbane in ’96 or ’99 and I felt a little bit dizzy after the game, yet once again the science wasn’t around to suggest that I should miss a week, would I go back out and I had after effects now? 

‘Once again this is me personally … would I go back out on the ground to play in that grand final? Absolutely I would,’ he said. 

Carey said players needed to take responsibility for their own actions. 

‘There are players that will put their hand up … Mentally, this isn’t a physical thing as in a broken bone so to speak. Because that’s very easy to know. When that’s healed, OK, bang, you’re back out. But the mental health side is certainly a massive issue,’ he said.  

Just this week the widow of former AFL player Shane Tuck withdrew from a coronial inquest into his death, citing concerns about the scope of the investigation.

Shane Tuck died by suicide in 2020, at 38 years old.

A post-mortem examination found the former Richmond midfielder had been suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a fatal brain disease linked to repeated knocks to the head.

Ms Tuck wanted the inquest to focus more on the adequacy of the policies surrounding head knocks and concussion when her husband was playing in the AFL, instead of the current scope of current and future guidelines relating to concussion in both boxing and the AFL. 

Liam Picken in May 2017 for the Western Bulldogs. His claims his career was cut short by a brain injury

Liam Picken was knocked out against the Hawks at Mars Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Ballarat. He claims he was put back to work immediately

Liam Picken is also among former players suing the AFL, his former club and its doctors for failing to protect his health during his 198-game career.

Picken, now aged 36, was a premiership-winning player for the Western Bulldogs in 2016 and played for the club from 2009 to 2017.

In documents filed with the Supreme Court of Victoria on Wednesday, Picken alleged the AFL, Bulldogs and its doctors Gary Zimmerman and Jacob Landsberger all failed in their duty of care to protect him from brain injury. 

Picken has outlined a series of on-field incidents he claims were mishandled by the Bulldogs dating back to 2011.

Despite tests indicating he had performed under the normal ranges for human brains, Picken claims he was put back to work immediately.

Picken claims he was not referred to experts in sport related concussion or referred for an MRI for further testing.

The former player highlighted a particularly sickening incident during a 2017 clash with Freemantle.

The premiership hero was concussed when Tommy Sheridan landed on his head in the second quarter and was left laying alone on the Subiaco turf as play continued around him.

Picken claims that clash left him with a ‘clear diagnosis of brain injury or concussion’.

Despite the severity of the blow, Picken claims he was not provided with a SCAT 3 test, which is used to assess concussions in athletes.

‘The (AFL) knew or ought have known that the Plaintiff suffered a brain injury or concussion in the 8 April 2017 incident,’ the writ stated.

Picken further claimed the Bulldogs also knew it.

Five days after that incident, Picken claims he underwent a Digital Cognitive Assessment, which recommended he wait for symptoms to resolve before taking another after-injury test.

Those test results were never provided to him and he immediately returned to full training.