Brisbane Lions have been penalised $20,000 for allowing a key midfielder to play five minutes at a crucial time of last year’s AFLW grand final in breach of concussion guidelines.
The AFL imposed the monetary sanction – half of which is suspended – even though an investigation into the incident found the breach “non-deliberate”, and that the player in question, Sophie Conway, was not concussed.
An AFL statement described the breach as “at the lower end of the scale”, but reiterated the need to follow concussion guidelines.
“The AFL is committed to protecting the health and safety of all players and requires strict compliance with concussion guidelines from our Clubs,” AFL general counsel, Stephen Meade, said.
“Whilst we acknowledge that Brisbane’s breach was not deliberate, and Conway did not in fact suffer a concussion, we set high standards that must be met in the assessment of head trauma to avoid the risk of further injury.”
Conway was seen to stumble late in the third-quarter of the grand final in December by the dedicated concussion medical spotter, who notified Brisbane.
The Lions’ doctor didn’t immediately see the message from the medical spotter, which would have required the player to be taken from the field and assessed for a concussion.
At around the time of the stumble, North Melbourne wrestled the lead from the Lions and the match hung in the balance.
The Brisbane doctor was alerted to the message at the start of the three-quarter time break and briefly assessed Conway, but allowed her to return to the field without undergoing a formal SCAT5 concussion test as required.
Conway was finally removed from the field after Dakota Davidson kicked a goal to reduce the margin to one point – approximately 10 minutes of time, and five minutes of match play – after the initial message.
Brisbane went on to kick three more goals to win the match by 17 points to clinch the premiership.
Conway, after passing the concussion test, was allowed to return for the final stages of the match.
The Lions issued a statement saying “player safety remains our highest priority at all times”.
“We accept the AFL’s decision, noting this was a non-deliberate breach of protocols and Conway did not suffer a concussion in the incident.”
The $10,000 of the fine that is payable now will be included in the club’s AFLW soft cap, while the suspended portion will only be payable if there is a similar breach in Brisbane’s AFL or AFLW program in 2024.
The sanction comes as the sport faces risk of liability for its management of concussions.
AFL’s general manager of football, Laura Kane, said on Tuesday player safety was a priority.
“We have six people here that are employed to work on concussion, we have doctors, we have doctors at all of our clubs and we will continue to be guided by the advice of those experts.”
North Melbourne was approached for comment.
