FOOTBALL manager Josh Mahoney says Melbourne has given the tick of approval on its first use of the concussion sub rule.
The Demons used the rule against the West Coast Eagles at the MCG last Saturday, when Rohan Bail came from the ground with suspected concussion. He was replaced by substitute Jimmy Toumpas.
“Rohan Bail, who’s had a history of concussions, was involved in an incident where he got a knock to the jaw. He was a bit sore in the jaw,” Mahoney said.
“He came off and was a bit sore on the jaw. Given his history and discussions with our doctor, Dan Bates, it was decided that we’d like to go through the process that was put in place.
“Rohan was able to go through that and he spent 20 minutes, which he has to be, off the ground. During that time, we were able to activate Jimmy Toumpas for that 20-minute period. Then we went into half time, so Rohan had the half-time break as well, and after half-time, there was another two and a half minutes left for the 20 minutes. During that period, Rohan went through the process to play [again].”
Mahoney said all parties exercised caution to ensure Bail’s best interests.
“From a club point of view, we felt comfortable with the duty of care, and that the player had gone through the process. From a player point of view, Rohan felt comfortable that he was right to go,” he said.
“In the starting point, he felt comfortable to go through the process, because he knew we weren’t going to be disadvantaged as a team. We were able to activate the sub and there was no disadvantage in terms of rotations or anything.
“So out of it all, we reviewed how it worked and we saw that it achieved a couple of things, which it set out to achieve – first of all, the player was able to go through the process and he was cleared to play. He felt good about that and the club felt good about that. During that period, the club wasn’t disadvantaged at any stage, because it was able to activate our sub during that time.”
The AFL announced on March 20 that it had made changes to the way it managed concussion in the game. The League made a rule change, which allowed the use of a team’s substitute player as a temporary interchange, while a player was being assessed for concussion.
Mahoney said the Demons were pleased with how the substitute worked.
“We think the combination of the two rule changes that have been made have worked really well,” he said.
“To have one without the other, it may have been a different result, but the combination of having 20 minutes set aside, but also being able to activate the sub at that time – we were able to achieve the things we wanted to achieve out of it.”
Mahoney said the scenario that played out was better than what would’ve occurred last year, when the rule wasn’t in place.
“The amount of work the AFL has done, in conjunction with all of the medical officers at all of the clubs is that they believe this is the best way to manage concussion on game day,” he said.
“We have to trust the professionals in this area, so now that’s been extended to a 20-minute period, there is the threat that a team is down for rotation of 20 minutes.
“Without the change to the sub rule, it may have been potentially an issue. But being able to activate the sub during that period, it’s alleviated that as well.”
Mahoney said Bail, who played out the match, pulled up well.
“When he returned on the ground, he didn’t have any symptoms after the game and he pulled up well, so he was right to play. He was tested for concussion, but he got a bit of a sore jaw from a knee during the second quarter,” he said.
