Blues hit by another injury, as battle for second spot intensifies

Andrew Wu
Carlton have been dealt another injury blow, with winger Blake Acres to miss the clash with Port Adelaide on Friday night.

Acres is the third Blue to be ruled out this week, joining star ruck Tom De Koning and defender Sam Durdin on the sidelines as the club aims to hold on to the all-important second spot.

Though cleared of damage to his foot, Acres was unable to beat the five-day break to get up this week. But the Blues are confident he will return for the following round’s blockbuster against Collingwood.

With his hard end-to-end running and ability to kick clutch goals, Acres has been an important, though underrated, cog in the Blues’ machine since crossing from Fremantle at the end of 2022.

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His absence leaves the door ajar for youngster Jaxon Binns to come into the senior team after amassing 47 possessions and booting three goals in the VFL, though the Blues will also consider using running machine Matthew Cottrell on the wing.

Voss confirmed on Thursday morning that Marc Pittonet would replace De Koning in the ruck but did not divulge other changes.

Defenders Mitch McGovern (hip) and Jordan Boyd (shin) are expected to return from short-term injuries, while Caleb Marchbank and Brodie Kemp will also push hard for promotion.

“I think his last two weeks have been particularly impressive, as have a few others,” Voss said on Binns. “We’ll balance that up against who’s in there, the current roles we’re asking players to do.

“I’d declare Pitto [in] and Blake not playing, I won’t declare too many others at this point in time.”

Voss was encouraged by how midfield duo Adam Cerra and Matthew Kennedy performed in defence against North, but said it was unlikely the pair would stay in those posts with key personnel to return in coming weeks.

The value of finishing second on the ladder would be magnified this year for the Blues, who risk heading to Brisbane or west to play Fremantle in a qualifying final should they slip to third or fourth. The Blues have held second since round 14, but losses to Greater Western Sydney and the Western Bulldogs have left them vulnerable.

Fagan calls for concussion overhaul, as Voss says Blues are in the clear

Jon Pierik and Andrew Wu
Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan wants an overhaul of the league’s on-field concussion protocols and for umpires to have greater influence, as the AFL Players Association backed calls for players to be assessed only after they have left the field.

Debate over whether players who have endured a head knock should be treated on field intensified after three incidents last weekend when there were delays in players leaving the field.

Carlton, Brisbane and Adelaide were issued with please-explain notices by the AFL for their handling of the league’s concussion protocols after separate incidents involving Blues forward Harry McKay, Lions co-captain Harris Andrews and Crows skipper Jordan Dawson.

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The AFL is expected to officially release its findings on Thursday, but Blues coach Michael Voss said in the morning that the Blues did not have anything to worry about.

Fagan, a veteran football department boss and coach, said it was time for change, and called for umpires to have full control on whether a player immediately left the field.

“What I would say about that, regardless of what happens, is I think there needs to be a better way to communicate what happens on field, so that decisions can be made more quickly,” Fagan said on Thursday.

“The umpires are miked up. Why can’t somebody who is watching the game and sees the vision, talks to the umpires, they stop the game [and say]: ‘That guy needs to go off’.

“That would take a lot of unnecessary inquiries, fines, all those things out of it. I think that’s what you need to do for clubs because I sit down on the bench every week, and it’s really hard to see whether a bloke has got a knock that could have caused a bit of concussion.

“I think we need to have an overhaul of the whole system to make it easier on clubs and take a bit of responsibility away from us, because I, as a coach, don’t get any say in the decision. I just get told that a player has got concussion and he is coming off. I don’t want to have any more say in that … because we know player safety comes first and foremost. I just think it’s a bit of a messy process at the moment and it could be tidied up a lot. All the lines of communication could be taken out - it could just be given to the umpires.”

Under Fagan’s plan, umpires would immediately stop play to allow a player they felt needed assessment to leave after a head knock. They would then undergo a 15-minute SCAT6 test.

As it stands, club doctors, often after reviewing replays in real time, and independent spotters in the league’s ARC, have the power to force players to leave the field for assessment.

AFL Players Association acting chief executive Regan Bunny said club doctors did not want to assess players on the field.

“The AFLPA shares the concerns raised by the AFL Doctors’ Association in relation to the difficulties in assessing players for potential head injuries on the field,” Bunny said.

“As such, the AFLPA supports the principle of removing players from the field to assess significant head injuries that occur during play. It’s critical that medical intervention, assessment and potential treatment occurs in an environment that allows doctors to effectively evaluate the people under their care.

“If this means temporarily stopping the match by officials or umpires to safely remove players in this situation, we are open to exploring this with the AFL and the AFLDA to understand the practicalities of doing so.

“Concussion is the biggest issue in the game so it’s vital we continually progress medical standards and processes to minimise risk and improve the identification of head knocks as much as possible.”

The AFLDA maintains it wants AFL-appointed independent medicos to assess concussions.

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Concussion campaigner Peter Jess said players needed to leave the field immediately, and wants the AFL to adopt greater assessment using the King-Devick concussion test, which features rapid number reading and impairment tests. He also wants immediate blood tests which “track the proteins that are released when the brain is suffering trauma”.

Blues forward McKay took a hit to the face in a marking contest with North Melbourne defender Eddie Ford, which appeared to leave McKay dazed. While he was slow to get to his feet, he continued playing, kicking a goal before being taken off for assessment. He was given the all clear to return.

Voss, who said on Thursday McKay will line up against Port Adelaide on Friday night, acknowledged the AFL’s review had not been released, but said the league did not have an issue with how the Blues had handled the incident.

“We were asked to put a series of events together in the way we saw it. We were able to do that and they were comfortable with where that lies, so we move on. We’re comfortable we followed the protocols that we needed to. We, obviously, took the time we needed this week to put that forward, we are comfortable with how that sits,” Voss said.

Voss said concussion protocols “will never be perfect” but backed calls for player assessment to only be done on the bench.

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