Carlton’s doctors have been slammed for a 14-minute delay between Adam Cerra being bumped high by Essendon’s Sam Durham, and being taken from the field for a concussion test.
Midway through the second quarter of the Blues’ eight-point win, Cerra was hit front-on by Durham while competing for the ball, triggering a minor fracas as teammates stuck up for him.
Durham has since received a two-match suspension for the bump, with the incident being graded as careless conduct with high impact and high contact by Match Review Officer Michael Christian.
A dazed Cerra got to his feet and was able to take his kick, remaining on-field for several minutes in which he won two more disposals.
Even when he left the field, though, the Blues refrained from sending him for a 15-minute head injury assessment, with Fox Footy boundary rider Ruby Schleicher reporting that club doctors had deemed there was no need.
However, only minutes later, they did just that, with Cerra heading into the rooms for a concussion test, and eventually cleared.
Speaking on Fox Footy, former great Garry Lyon was scathing of the delay, calling it ‘ridiculous’.
“That is a failure of the system – get that kid off the ground straight away and test him,” Lyon said.
“Whether he says he’s right or not – he’s [Cerra] the last bloke in this stadium who’s placed to say whether he’s right or not.
“Take it out of his hands. You’ve allowed him to run around for 10 minutes with the prospect or spectre of a possible concussion hanging over him.”
Schleicher questioned whether the Blues had been overruled by the AFL’s independent doctor, who monitors games for potential incidents via the ARC video review system and can inform club doctors of potential incidents.
The Blues later reported that the concussion test was of their own volition and as an ‘absolute precaution’, according to Fox Footy reporter David Zita.
“The club have said that he [Cerra] was completely cleared of concussion,” Zita said at half time at the MCG.
“He was immediately assessed out on the ground and was okay to remain out there in the eyes of the club doctor.
“The vision was reviewed – the club then made the decision to have the HIA completed as an absolute precaution, then [he] came from the ground 14 minutes after the original incident.”
Durham was expected to receive a one-week sanction for the bump, with a grading of careless conduct with high contact and medium impact – the latter given Cerra played out the game – to trigger the ban according to Match Review Officer Michael Christian’s guidelines.
However, the ban’s ‘impact’ grading was lifted due to its potential to cause injury.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s First Crack, former player David King called for an even harsher ban, saying Durham’s bump ‘has wheelchair written all over it’.
“This is exactly why we need to stamp it out,” King said.
“That’s just not on. The game’s gone past that. I don’t know how much education you can put into these players, but the message is still not getting through to some.”
Co-panellist Leigh Montagna agreed, calling the incident ‘as dangerous as it gets’.
“That is the most vulnerable a player can be, and if Cerra had just instinctively lowered his head instead of lifting it, there could have been a disastrous result.
“That’s exactly the act that we need to take out of the game.”
