Questions regarding Geelong’s vagueness on the concussion timeline of star defender Tom Stewart have intensified, with calls for greater transparency around his recovery and the club’s broader handling of injury updates.
The five-time All-Australian was concussed in the dying stages of the Cats’ one-point loss to Adelaide in Round 13, which saw him enter concussion protocols in the days after the Thursday night thriller.
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Peculiarly though, neither the club or the AFL have definitively said when Stewart entered the mandatory 12-day concussion protocols, leaving his availability for Thursday night’s blockbuster with Fremantle still up in the air after missing Round 15 against Gold Coast.
Speaking on Midweek Tackle, Fox Footy reporter Jon Ralph said while he could understand ongoing niggles for some players not being mentioned in their weekly injury report, it was far less sensical in the case of concussion.
“I completely understand why they would gild the lily with things like Jeremy Cameron. I’ve reported about that extensively the last couple weeks,” Ralph said on Tuesday night.
“I think concussion is a very different case (though). I’m sure that they’re not pushing the envelope in regards to Tom Stewart. But we’ve done so much there in the community to promote the awareness around head knocks.
“Is he in the 12-day concussion protocol? When did it start? I just don’t think we need to be having any subterfuge around head knocks — the privacy stuff doesn’t wash. It’s not private, these clubs have been mandated to do it.
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“They should be really precise about when Tom Stewart was initially concussed, and when is his first possible chance to come back and potentially play against Fremantle — which right now we think is doubtful.”
Midweek Tackle panellist Corbin Middlemas added: “We’re sitting here where, if he did enter the 12-day mandatory concussion protocols … he would just be about coming out of those, and be eligible to play this week,” Middlemas said.
“We still don’t know as an industry as to when he entered, and when he possibly came out. It feels like Geelong has done their very best to avoid the answer to that question.”
The murkiness around Stewart’s availability comes amid the club’s omission of young ruck Mitch Edwards from its injury list on Tuesday evening, despite multiple reports the 21-year-old underwent surgery on Monday to combat an infection.
According to the AFL website, the Cats have three players listed as ‘TBC’ for Round 16, while another remains ‘indefinite’ with a knee injury.
It’s not the first time Geelong has come under scrutiny for its publishing of injury lists, with Middlemas highlighting each club’s obligation under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to be reasonably transparent.
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“In the CBA, Article 2.7 — Injury Updates, classified as Point A: ‘Clubs must ensure that all medical information is credible, responsible and specific in terms of its meaningful contribution towards the teams, the media and its fans,” Middlemas said.
“On 2.7C, it goes on to say they “must update that as soon as reasonably practical to do so”, which I don’t think Geelong has done for a period of time. I asked chief executive Steve Hocking on radio about this the other day, and he said he hasn’t had any communication from the AFL as to the way that they handle such things.
“I almost feel like that’s where it gets handed over (and) becomes less of a Geelong issue … it becomes an AFL thing.
“If the AFL are happy for Geelong to handle it that way, I’d imagine there’s 17 other clubs in the competition that are thinking: ‘Why are we being so transparent about our injuries … if there’s not going to be any kind of pressure enforced by headquarters to make it happen.”
Stewart’s unfortunate concussion against Adelaide is his second inside nine months, after being knocked out in last year’s preliminary final win against Hawthorn.