The AFL faces years of litigation over allegations of historical negligence in its management of concussion, a hearing in the Victorian supreme court was told on Thursday.

The league is defending two class actions and a separate matter brought by former Western Bulldogs player Liam Picken, and clubs have also been named in the claims.

Justice Andrew Keogh is considering whether to stay or suspend the Picken matter, and discontinue the class action brought by the family of the late Shane Tuck. That would allow the largely similar issues to be dealt with in the other class action where former Cats player Max Rooke is lead plaintiff.

Lawyers on Thursday revealed how long the issues are likely to stay in court.

If the Picken matter is continued, the AFL’s Ben Ihle said getting to trial within 12 months is “not only optimistic, it’s unrealistic”.

The barrister acting for the Rooke class action, Tim Tobin, agreed with Keogh’s suggestion that the matter is “something like 12 months from trial”.

The class action is expected to take even longer, given it covers the period from 1985 to 2023 and members across multiple clubs, including some in multiple states.

Lawyers anticipate it might not be until the end of next year at the earliest until the matter is resolved.

On Thursday morning, 15 lawyers representing plaintiffs, clubs and the AFL debated next steps for the complicated array of claims. In the gallery was the AFL’s general counsel, Stephen Meade, who was in regular conversation with his legal team.

Keogh said it was “all a little messy” about how clubs are named as defendants in some claims but not the Rooke lawsuit.

“It’s very messy,” Ihle replied.

Keogh is considering whether he will allow the Tuck class action to be discontinued, which would mean its members would need to join the Rooke action if they wanted to pursue the matter.

He said the “crux” of his decision will be around whether notice – including, for example, advertising – must be given.

The AFL is seeking to have all matters dealt with in a single class action, and produced a table for the court highlighting the similarities between the various actions.

Keogh is expected to make orders over whether the Picken case is stayed, and the Tuck case discontinued, in the next few weeks.

Tobin said he anticipated the number of members in the Rooke class action to grow by “30 to 40%” over the next six weeks.

He flagged that members are concerned that if the list is made public, their brain injury will become known to potential employers. This point will be considered later in the proceedings.

The parties will come together next in late May or early June for another case management conference.