Saintsational Fan Forum - A passionate community of St Kilda Football Club fans discussing news, history, players, trade rumours, results, AFL stats and more.
After that injury against the Crows last year, a lot of people said I should give the game away. Clearly if the advice came back from experts that I should retire then that's what I would've done. But after detailed brain scans and analysis the advice I received was that I had fully recovered and I was at no greater risk than I was prior to the injury. That's really important to know - I wasn't just 'OK' to play again, I was actually at no greater risk than I had been previously.
St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt is taken from the field after his sickening concussion against Adelaide in 2015. David Mariuz/Getty Images
I've got a wife, a young child and a family - In no way would I take any unnecessary risks to jeopardise my future or theirs. If at any stage in the future I am advised it was time to give the game away due to a greater risk of permanent damage, then it'd be an easy decision.
and can you take the test - and pass?
We began by answering several orientation questions known the Maddocks Score. These are questions that anyone not experiencing a concussive episode would be able to answer. Where are we? Who did we play last week? Who kicked the last goal? Which half are we in?
Next, I was given a brief survey to answer based on how I was feeling at the time. Was I experiencing any dizziness? Pressure in the head? Fogginess? Feeling slowed down? Neck pain? And so on.
Next, as a memory assessment, I was given five words to remember: candle, paper, sugar, sandwich and wagon.
Given my natural urge to get back out on the field, coupled with still being able to hear the roar of the crowd, this was a frustrating process to go through. However, I'm fully aware of its necessity and importance.
Next I was asked to say the months of the year in reverse order. Following that I was given a list of numbers and asked to repeat them in reverse order. 163 would be 361. 9845..... 61742..... 380475......
Following this, the doctor checked my balance. I had to stand on my non-dominant leg, close my eyes and balance for 20 seconds. This is hard for me to do normally, let alone if I happened to be concussed. That's why the test is compared to a baseline of your own results.
It's all about collecting as much information as possible so doctors can make an informed decision.
Can you remember the five words I had to memorise? Just for the record I nailed them and generally performed very well on all of the aforementioned tests and questions.
Brereton suggested playing Rooey on the backline for both his long-term health and also the good of the club. He thinks we were more dangerous in the second half as we were more unpredictable without Roo forward and he inhibits the other young forwards. I don't that would work - he doesn't really have the lateral movement required as a full time defender. Playing further up the ground he pushes out down back sometimes to help out anyway.
Brereton did make an interesting point - he said during his career as a forward he would average 4 whacks to the back of the head per quarter. That might be a typical Dermott exaggeration, but Rooey would have copped a lot of whacks around the head during his 301 games. Such was his courage, Rooey never once went at a marking contest without his arms total extended and leaving himself vulnerable to dirty defenders giving him one to go on with.
I guess this will be more a question for the end of the year if he gets the all clear to play on this year. He'll weigh everything up (his desire to play on, his young family, post-footy career options, how he feels physically and mentally) and then discuss with Richo and the club. I have faith that Richo has the balls to make a hard decision if he felt it was in the best long-term interests of the club.
Brereton suggested playing Rooey on the backline for both his long-term health and also the good of the club. He thinks we were more dangerous in the second half as we were more unpredictable without Roo forward and he inhibits the other young forwards. I don't that would work - he doesn't really have the lateral movement required as a full time defender. Playing further up the ground he pushes out down back sometimes to help out anyway.
Brereton did make an interesting point - he said during his career as a forward he would average 4 whacks to the back of the head per quarter. That might be a typical Dermott exaggeration, but Rooey would have copped a lot of whacks around the head during his 301 games. Such was his courage, Rooey never once went at a marking contest without his arms total extended and leaving himself vulnerable to dirty defenders giving him one to go on with.
I guess this will be more a question for the end of the year if he gets the all clear to play on this year. He'll weigh everything up (his desire to play on, his young family, post-footy career options, how he feels physically and mentally) and then discuss with Richo and the club. I have faith that Richo has the balls to make a hard decision if he felt it was in the best long-term interests of the club.
I've always liked the idea of Riewoldt playing CHB. I think he'd be devastating in that position.
“I thought I was fine to return, but obviously I wasn’t. Still, I felt OK. In fact, on Saturday night, I read a book and started this article — you can’t do that if you’re struggling badly with concussion.”
So, next time you’re yelling at your favourite player to “harden up”, ask yourself if you could pass the AFL concussion test.
Jacks Back wrote:Maybe if Rooey wants to keep playing he may have to wear a helmet ala Caleb Daniel (and others).
The helmet is good for reducing impact injures but I think the jury is still out on benefits in terms of concussion, in that concussion is more about movement of the brain within the skull and internal impacts. But I'm not up to date on this.
Jacks Back wrote:Maybe if Rooey wants to keep playing he may have to wear a helmet ala Caleb Daniel (and others).
The helmet is good for reducing impact injures but I think the jury is still out on benefits in terms of concussion, in that concussion is more about movement of the brain within the skull and internal impacts. But I'm not up to date on this.
AFL medical officer Peter Harcourt
" At the moment we say it protects soft tissue and if it makes people feel better we wouldn’t say no.
“But if you think it might protect against concussion, there is no evidence it does that, and there is some evidence to say it might make it worse because you have created a slightly bigger target and have individuals who think they are protected so they go in harder."
"The starting point of all achievement is desire. "
