Tim Watson has labelled the Aliir Aliir and Lachie Jones concussion situation a “disgrace” and a “terrible mistake”.
The Port Adelaide pair have both entered the AFL’s concussion protocols following a sickening head clash which occurred during the Showdown loss to Adelaide on Saturday night.
Aliir underwent a Head Impact Assessment (HIA) and was cleared to return to play, but the club did not implement a SCAT5 test immediately after, which they have since accepted responsibility for.
Jones was subbed out of the game with a migraine even though he passed his SCAT5.
PRESSURE INTENSIFIES ON PORT ADELAIDE FOLLOWING MAJOR DEVELOPMENT IN ALIIR HEAD KNOCK
The Power have since opted to place both defenders in the AFL’s 12-day concussion protocols which has attracted plenty of attention and scrutiny.
In response, Watson and SEN Breakfast co-host Garry Lyon discussed the situation and how it came to be in this new era of taking head knocks seriously.
“That’s a disgrace,” Watson said.
“That is a terrible mistake, if you’re going to be kind. A terrible oversight by the medical people at Port Adelaide not to have put him (Aliir) into the concussion protocol and tested him.
“Anybody watching that game, the first thing you think about when you see him lying there on the ground, you do not need to have spent five years getting a medical degree to understand what that young man was going through, both of them for that matter.”
Lyon referenced a similar incident between Port’s Tom Jonas and Zak Butters against Richmond in Round 9 last year when both players were bloodied but returned to the field of play.
“And it happened last year, is the other thing, with Jonas and Zak Butters,” he added.
“They were investigated over the fact that they both got knocked down and looked like they were knocked out and they both came back on the field.
“The AFL, I don’t know if it’s the AFL’s fault, but it’s been left open…”
It led to a discussion surrounding the potential to implement an independent medical officer at all AFL grounds in a bid to assess such instances more thoroughly, taking away the self interest of a club attempting to win a game of football.
Watson: “Why isn’t there an independent person there making sure that players are ripped off the ground?”
Lyon: “I think that’s the next step, isn’t it.”
Watson: “Why haven’t they taken that step yet?
“I thought there was. In fact, I think there is at some games. I’ve actually spoken to one of these independent medical people at a ground.”
Lyon: “I haven’t had anyone suggested to me that there’s an independent medico at every single game who makes these decisions.
“Otherwise we wouldn’t be having these issues. Otherwise we’d be saying, ‘Why didn’t the independent medico at this game rule out Aliir Aliir?’”
Watson: “It was so obvious. It was so highlighted and so graphic, it beggars belief that nobody (assessed it).”
Lyon concluded: “The environment we’re in is a tinderbox right now, and it should be.
“Because we’re dealing with lives and we know the history. We know where it sits from a litigious point of view, we saw Wally Lewis, all these things are in there and you go where you need to be uber cautious and err on the side of caution because everyone is looking at your code to see how you’re dealing with this.
“That couldn’t have happened at a worse time.”
Both Aliir and Jones will miss this weekend’s crunch clash with Geelong at GMHBA Stadium as the second-placed Power look to establish themselves in the top four by arresting a three-game losing streak.
Port football boss Chris Davies confirmed the club will provide more details to the AFL regarding the incident.