14/04/2026
Last night one of the Bower Reserves suffered a concussion early in the first half. My view of the incident and mechanism of injury was obscured. Therefore I did not fully witness the incident enabling me to make a judgment call and take action .
Before the game the fourth official was very forthright with his instructions that only two people at a time are permitted to stand in the technical area during play. Everyone else, including me, was to remain seated.
Anyone who knows, will tell you that the two people stand are always the head coach and his assistant. Therefore, I am seated and my view of proceeding is often compromised.
On this occasion that proved critical. As I did not see the incident, I was not able to demand that the player be withdrawn immediately as I would have recognised tell tale signs of concussion.
Thankfully not too long after the event the player sat down and I was allowed to enter the field of play and make the assessment followed by the appropriate action ie “get him to hospital for a CT scan in view of possible brain injury!”
At half time I had a polite discussion with the referee seeking permission to stand discretely and in silence at the side of the dugout where I would have a better view of play at key moments, similar to the situation in Rugby.
I informed the referee that our guy had suffered concussion and had been sent to hospital. The referee insisted that the player had told him that he was ok so he did not call me on.
I politely informed the referee that concussion is a brain injury and the person suspected of suffering it is often the worst person to make any assessment to due impairment and personal characteristics. Medically trained staff are the best people to make any assessment and they should be given every accommodation to do the job correctly so that player safety can be maintained properly.
Following this polite discussion and with credit to the referee, he understood my point and accepted that it would be appropriate for me to stand at the side of the dugout in silence during key moments of the game and then return to my seat.
Time for a change of the antiquated and draconian rules of football as it is lagging way behind the common sense approach adopted in rugby (see below!)
