AFL umpire Ray Chamberlain has recalled two on-field collisions of the past that have stuck with him ever since.
It comes amid concerns over the long-term health and safety of concussed AFL players after the late Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
CTE can only be diagnosed after death with over 100 deceased NFL players found to have detected the disease from repetitive brain trauma.
Chamberlain, who has umpired over 300 AFL games, says the two bone-crunching incidents live with him to this day.
“I sometimes get a little upset when I hear people - who have never been out there (on the ground) – talking about soft this or it (the game) is weak now,” Chamberlain told SEN’s Whateley.
“Honestly, I’ll never forget doing a game very early in my career - there were two (incidents) that stick with me like it was yesterday.
“One was Aaron Hamill and Darren Milburn, and they eyeballed each other and just went head-to-head. The ball was in the middle and they crunched each other so hard in this bump – it just rattled.
“The other one was Brent Guerra on a very young Luke Parker. He (Parker) is a big human – he is so strong and so brave and so tough – and he got rattled.
“Those two clashes live with me today like it just happened.”
Liam Picken, Koby Stevens and Jack Frost were forced into early retirement due to concussion symptoms, while the career of St Kilda forward Paddy McCartin remains uncertain having suffered several head knocks over his short career.
Listen to Ray Chamberlain’s chat on SEN’s Whateley in the player below