Why club doctors 'have to come in' to face media

Eddie McGuire has called on AFL sides to utilise their club doctors to clarify when a player gets concussed during a match.

The suggestion comes after the Western Bulldogs landed in hot water after not addressing the scary collapse of midfielder Tom Liberatore minutes after he copped a hit from Bomber Jake Stringer during the fourth quarter of their 29-point loss in round five.

Speaking post-match, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was quick to downplay fears that the 2016 premiership player would be ruled out with concussion.

“He’s fine. I think for some reason he lost his footing and stumbled,” he told media.

“He’s been looked after, no concussion. He’s apparently fine.”

However, the club was forced to address the concerns the following morning, confirming Liberatore would be ruled out of their round six match against the Saints under the league’s concussion protocols.

“Tom remains without concussion symptoms this morning. However, given the concerning nature of in-game footage during the final minutes that show Tom falling to the ground, the club’s medical team has subsequently reached a decision to place him in concussion protocols,” the Bulldogs statement read on Saturday.

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Now, McGuire says it is time to take the onus off coaches to address injury concerns post match, considering they usually have minimal information fed to them immediately after the game.

“Maybe the questions on those situations now have to be addressed by the club doctor,” McGuire said on Nine’s Footy Classified on Wednesday night.

Nathan Murphy fronts the media after announcing his medical retirement from the AFL.

“If this is going to be such a big issue, I think the club doctor has to come in and … say ‘I haven’t had time to look at it, I’ll give you a report tomorrow’.”

The suggestion comes after GWS skipper Toby Greene admitted he has hidden concussion symptoms during his time playing professional football.

The confession follows Collingwood defender Nathan Murphy was forced to medically retire from the game due to excessive head trauma suffered on field.

“The days of saying ‘I rolled my ankle’ or ‘I got too hot and fainted’, we can’t have that,” McGuire said.

“It’s too big an issue in the game.”

Matthew Lloyd agreed with McGuire’s proposal.

“He (Liberatore)was trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes, but he gets ruled out, he’s not allowed to play. We’ve come a long way,” Lloyd said.

On the eve of the 2024 season, Melbourne premiership midfielder Angus Brayshaw was forced to medically retire due to his ongoing head trauma.

Brayshaw’s retirement saw the AFL create more stringent rules around protection of players’ heads.

The league also introduced stricter concussion protocols for local league players, increasing the sideline time from 12 days to 21 for all players up to VFL and VFLW level.