The AFL admitted to having made a mistake by allowing the game to continue after Lachie Schultz de Collingwood suffered a heavy concussion during Thursday evening with Fremantle.
Schultz remained stunned after a brutal head confrontation with Jordan Clark de Fremantle in the last mandate, triggering an immediate concern of players and doctors.
Although Schultz launches his arms in a classic “fence” response and fighting to get up, the game continued for almost 20 seconds.
The ball remained at stake while Nick Daicos won possession and went to Jamie Elliott, who scored inside 50 and kicked a goal.
Several members of medical staff took care of Schultz while he stood the bench, but the referees failed to stop the match.
Now the AFL says that the game should have been interrupted.
Schultz was hardly affected by Jordan Clark de Freo and collapsed on the ground while the coaches were trying to help him from the field
Schultz, photographed with Maddie Oberin during the prizes of the Magpies Collingwood Best and Fairst in 2024, will now enter the Concrete Protocol of AFL
“The game can be arrested by the referees, who are invited to stop the game as soon as they are aware that there is an injured player near the game,” said an AFL spokesperson.
“In the match last night, the referees did not see the player injured at the time, so the game continued. During the exam, if the referees were aware, the game would have been arrested when Daicos had possession.
He scored the second consecutive week when the game was not arrested for a clearly injured player, after Harrison Jones of Essendon was treated on the field with a dislocated ankle 8.
Collingwood captain Darcy Moore said it was “clicked” to attend Schultz’s state on the ground.
“We were quite concerned about gravity, how disoriented he looked,” Moore told Fox Footy.
“The players of the two teams thought that the game should have been arrested for 20 seconds to let it be disconcert.”
Moore stood near Schultz at the time and could see the attacker’s difficulties.
“It was not yet feeling well continuing football when it was in this state,” he said. It was still a shot. It was time to stop.
Collingwood captain Darcy Moore asked why the game was allowed to continue while Schultz was in obvious distress
Coach Craig McRae shared Moore’s concern, confirming that the club had called for a stretcher.
“We are all just worried about his well-being,” said McRae.
“We did what we could. Ideally, you can stop the game.
Schultz has a story of headache, and that marks his third concussion since 2021.
It will miss the match next week against Adelaide and aims to return against North Melbourne.
McRae said the situation showed Schultz’s courage.
“Your subconscious comes into play – be overturned, get up. Maybe it’s in his psyche ”, he said.
“This is a part of our game that we will not add to. We make changes to make the game safer.
Schultz remained aware and was then seen singing the club’s song in the rooms after the victory.
Melbourne’s great David Schwarz has now called for an examination of how the players are withdrawn from the field after the heads.
“I just don’t want a player to flow from the ground, half a commotion or fully commotion,” said Schwarz on Sen.
“He was out. You just have to say: “Do not move. We will make you stretch.
Schwarz asked why the medical staff allowed Schultz to leave the ground on foot rather than forcing them to lie.
“I’m not a doctor, but it’s not a good look, and it can’t be good for the player,” he said.
Meanwhile, Collingwood hopes that Brody Mihocek will return from an abdominal strain next week.
The club had planned to rest Jordan de Goey and is optimistic that Brayden Maynard and Scott Pendlebury will also return.
