Magpies ‘surprised’ by AFL’s bungled investigation
Even after the AFL’s health and safety procedures came under fire for failing to handle Magpies player Lachie Schultz’s concussion, Collingwood hasn’t heard from the league in days.
The AFL has been under fire for failing to conduct a thorough inquiry into why Schultz, who was obviously in trouble after colliding with Fremantle defender Jordan Clark last Thursday night, was allowed to remain on the field.
After learning that umpires had actually observed Schultz’s injury, AFL football manager Laura Kane has accepted responsibility for the incident.
In their original statement, the AFL said that although the umpires had not seen Schultz on the ground, they would have halted play if they had.
After Thursday night’s game, Collingwood coach Craig McRae was sure that play ought to have been stopped.
Before McRae’s weekly press conference, Magpies football manager Charlie Gardiner took over to answer queries regarding the AFL and umpiring.
“A little bit surprised with some of the internal communications (at the AFL),” Gardiner stated on Wednesday.
However, in our opinion, it doesn’t significantly alter our stance, which was that the play ought to have been halted that evening.
“On Friday, the AFL reached out to us as a check-in.
“They told us that they believed stopping the game would have been the best course of action, and they took that stance in public.
“But we haven’t had any further contact other than that.”
Gardiner maintained that Collingwood’s training session on Wednesday was “part of our ordinary training plan” despite the fact that several AFL umpires were there.
There were no “formal” talks regarding the problems of the previous week, according to Gardiner.
After a concussion was handled improperly, the AFL came under scrutiny for its health and safety procedures.
Paul Marsh, the head of the AFL Players Association, has criticized the league’s response to the incident.
Following the leak of on-field audio showing the umpires talking about Schultz at the time, Marsh stated, “What this highlights to us is that the process of dealing with vital health and safety issues on the field is unclear, and there are many recent examples of the industry needing to better prepare everyone for when these situations occur.”
“Although we acknowledge that the AFL has accepted responsibility for its failure to properly review a significant on-field incident, we are nevertheless disappointed.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with the industry to continually strengthen health and safety protocols for our members.”
It is the most recent in a string of mishandled on-field injury occurrences that have occurred in the last 12 months.
When Melbourne’s Christian Petracca was visibly upset during the 2024 King’s Birthday match versus Collingwood, he was permitted to return to the field.
It was then discovered that Petracca had sustained potentially fatal injuries after Magpies captain Darcy Moore unintentionally kneed him in the back.
Ace from Geelong When physicians approached Jeremy Cameron after a head hit during the match against Port Adelaide, he refused to get off the ground. He subsequently received a concussion diagnosis.
More recently, when Harry Jones, a large player for Essendon, was lying on the ground in agony due to a dislocated ankle versus North Melbourne, play continued.
“Great consistency” is not what Port coach Ken Hinkley thinks the AFL is producing.
“When you get inconsistencies, you do get some doubt, and you get a lack of confidence at times,” Hinkley stated on Wednesday.
But for us as coaches and players, it’s a difficult game to control and consistently do right. The same is probably true for administrators.
“And we can all ask that you go over it, improve at it, and make sure the message is consistent.
“There seems to be a fair bit of confusion going around.”
Kane acknowledged that the initial AFL statement regarding the Schultz incident was “inaccurate, but the umpires provided us with incorrect information.”
In private, the umpire community is furious over the consequences of the incident.
Leave a Reply