Melbourne Investigates Possible Delayed Concussion in Harrison Petty’s Case
Melbourne has launched an investigation into whether a delayed onset concussion was the cause of a concerning incident during their recent win over Brisbane. The moment in question involved defender Harrison Petty, who appeared unsteady and had to be assisted from the ground.
The incident occurred just before three-quarter time in a closely contested match where Melbourne emerged victorious with a score of 16.8 (104) to 15.12 (102). After turning over a kick-in to Will Ashcroft for a Brisbane goal, Petty seemed visibly shaken and was quickly surrounded by his teammates.
Play was halted as trainers rushed to assist Petty on the field. Teammate Daniel Turner described the situation as “very scary,” adding that it’s never pleasant to witness a teammate in such a state.
“Unfortunately, you never like to see anyone like that, especially one of your teammates. But I saw him after the game and he seemed in good spirits and he seemed fine, so hopefully he’s all good,” Turner said.
Melbourne coach Steven King confirmed that the team suspects Petty may have suffered a delayed onset concussion from an earlier incident. He emphasized the importance of conducting proper tests to ensure the player’s well-being.
“We’re still having a bit of a look at that. It was potentially a bit of the delayed concussion or something. So we’ll do the right tests,” King explained.
“We’re not 100 per cent sure yet, but he was complaining of some blurred vision. So we’ll do all the tests tonight and tomorrow and I’ll let you know as soon as we find out. But obviously, not great.”
King also mentioned that Petty felt he should have stopped the game before taking the kick-out, though he didn’t experience any symptoms beforehand.
“So whether it was anything else more sinister, whether it was delayed concussion, we’ll have a look at it,” King added.
“We’re obviously going to take it pretty seriously and we’ll do the due diligence to make sure he’s OK.”
Meanwhile, Brisbane is monitoring the progress of backman Noah Answerth, who suffered another setback due to a concussion. The incident occurred in the fourth quarter when Answerth was bumped by Demon Kysaiah Pickett into Brody Mihocek, causing his head to hit the Melbourne forward’s shoulder.
Answerth failed a head injury assessment (HIA) called by the AFL review centre (ARC). Coach Fagan expressed surprise at the decision to put Answerth into the protocols.
“I was a little bit surprised when he came off and they told me that he was in the protocols, in the ARC,” Fagan said.
Answerth was making his return to the field after missing two games due to a previous concussion. He has a history of concussions, which adds to the concern.
“He’s had a few concussions, yeah, so we’re in the lap of the gods on that one,” Fagan said.
“The main thing is what’s good for his health.”
When asked if he was worried about a potential long lay-off, Fagan responded: “I don’t know. It’ll all depend how he responds, I guess … the AFL can ask for extra tests and things like that, so I don’t know whether Noah will become one of those people that go into that category or not, so we’ll just have to wait and see on that.”