Nick Dal Santo believes the AFL world has come a long way in terms of taking concussion symptoms seriously, but still has a lengthy road ahead of it.
Former Richmond midfielder Shane Tuck, who died in 2020, was found to have the degenerative brain disease CTE, something that can only be diagnosed in post-mortem.
After hearing the news, Dal Santo’s initial reaction was one of understandable fear, after his own lengthy career in the league with St Kilda and North Melbourne.
“The fear is, as I sit here as a father, how do you ever know?” he told SEN Breakfast.
“If it’s your children, and my boys will play football if they choose to, we need to know more because it’s happening everywhere and it’s starting at a young age.”
Dal Santo adds that the days of players going back out on the ground after suffering concussion symptoms are long gone.
“I’m concerned about the protocols, I think we’ve come leaps and bounds in the last four, five, maybe 10 years from an AFL perspective,” he said.
“For those that aren’t aware, everyone in the pre-season does a series of tests on a computer and it’s about reaction time, it’s about identifying colours and it’s all documented.
“Then you do that as your concussion protocol if you have any symptoms or you’ve had any inkling of a knock.
“There’ll be a lot of people out there sceptical saying ‘it’s in the club’s best interests to get the player back out there’, but it’s not in the doctor’s best interest.
“And the doctors have the final say and they are bound by legal reasons to make sure that protocol is adhered to.
“Years ago (players) would say ‘I’m fine’ and I’ve been out there and heard players say it. I’ve heard them during the week say ‘I’m good to go’ and the team goes ‘okay we’ll back you in, you’re an experienced player, you know your body better than us and you know how you’re feeling’.
“Those days are gone.”