The AFL has announced a rule change to allow the use of a team’s substitute player as a temporary interchange while a player is being assessed for concussion.
The sub may be activated for a 20-minute period only while a player is being assessed by the club doctor for potential concussion. After that assessment period, the club will then have to either activate its sub player, or return him to being a substitute.
The rule change is part of an enhanced set of guidelines for AFL clubs introduced as a result of last year’s International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich. The concussion-sub is supported by the AFL Players Association, AFL Coaches Association and the Laws of the Game Committee, and was on Tuesday approved by the AFL Commission.
In a statement released on Wednesday, AFL Medical Commissioner Dr Peter Harcourt said the key features of the updated AFL guidelines were:
- Any player with a medically diagnosed concussion will not be allowed to return to play on the day of injury;
- Sideline video review by team doctors of the relevant on-field incident as a part of the clinical assessment will be used at all major AFL venues
- The extensive SCAT3 assessment to determine whether a player is fit to return to play cannot take place for a minimum of 10 minutes after the on-field incident
- A player with any neurological symptoms or signs, video features of concussion and/or any evidence of a disturbance of mental state or cognitive function following trauma, can be considered to have concussion and must not return to play
- Where there is any suspicion of concussion, the player requires further evaluation including video footage review and assessment of symptoms, orientation, balance and cognitive function (SCAT3) prior to a final determination
- If a player is cleared of a concussion following assessment, they can be allowed to return to play, but should be monitored for the duration of the game as concussion symptoms are dynamic and can evolve over time
- Club Medical Officers may be required to provide full documentation of clinical assessments of concussion to the AFL Medical Directors for review. Full documentation will also be collected as part of ongoing research activities
