While the AFL has enlisted Peter Gordon, also a prominent lawyer and the former Western Bulldogs president, to design a multimillion-dollar compensation fund for past players impacted by concussion, Griffin told The Age on Tuesday this was not good enough.

“You can only right the wrongs of the past by compensating those that were injured because of the acts of those in charge at the time that led to these issues,” he said.

“All the rhetoric coming out of the AFL is about setting up all these processes or compensation, but it is all palpable nonsense. Basically, they want to sweep the crumbs from the table to those that have been affected, then continue to proceed as if they are the doyen of international sporting bodies.

“Reality will tell you they have been joined at the hip in everything they have done from the ’70s onwards to the NFL. Just as it failed for the NFL, it will fail for the AFL.”

The American NFL faced a class action from former players in 2012 that led to a settlement of $US765 million.

Griffin’s action has been mooted for several years but when asked whether it would be ready to go next year, he replied: “It could, very easily. I don’t wish to keep … 14 people working on a case.” He added: “The class action, it will occur, is the answer.”

Tuck, who played 173 games with Richmond between 2004-13, died of suicide last year. He also played state league football in South Australia.

The Australian Sports Brain Bank diagnosed Tuck with CTE earlier this year, with the former Tiger now one of four ex-AFL players to be posthumously diagnosed with CTE. “Polly” Farmer, Danny Frawley and Murray Weideman are the other three players.

“What you are seeking to do is invite me to apportion blame as to what has occurred and that is not my role, frankly,” Cain said in the directions hearing.

However, he did indicate he would put the current concussion policies and protocols of both the AFL and boxing under the microscope. The coroners court has reached out to UK concussion expert Dr William Stewart to provide expert advice as to the efficacy of what the sporting bodies have in place.

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Representatives from the AFL and the AFL Players Association supported Cain’s focus on present and future practices.

Concussion advocate Peter Jess said the coroner’s desire to limit the scope of the inquest was “an opportunity lost”.

“Instead of understanding the nexus between CTE and football, what we have is the consigning of that powerful investigative ability of the coroner completely corralled,” Jess said.

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Gideon Boas, the counsel assisting the coroner, indicated part of the draft terms of reference included reviewing whether the AFL’s policies, guidelines, rules and practices were reasonable and proportionate to address the risk of CTE occurring as a result of the head injuries that AFL players incur based on research and scientific evidence.

Cain said he was not yet certain whether a coronial inquest was needed, but time had been set aside in March 2022 if such a hearing was needed.

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