{"id":619364,"date":"2026-04-20T14:53:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T14:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/619364\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T14:53:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T14:53:22","slug":"afl-admits-arc-error-after-heated-disagreement-between-doctors-over-tom-edwards-head-knock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/619364\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL admits ARC error after heated disagreement between doctors over Tom Edwards\u2019 head knock"},"content":{"rendered":"

The AFL<\/a> has been forced to admit the ARC doctor made a crucial error during Gold Coast\u2019s<\/a> thrilling win over Essendon<\/a> on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Channel 7\u2019s Tom Morris revealed the ARC doctor overruled the Essendon doctor after a \u201cheated disagreement\u201d when Tom Edwards was cleared to return to the field following a head knock.<\/p>\n

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: AFL concedes ARC doctor error<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

With 15 minutes remaining in the final quarter, Edwards was collected high by John Noble, who copped a one-match ban for rough conduct that he is appealing at the tribunal.<\/p>\n

Edwards came from the field to get checked by medical staff, but was given the all clear to return.<\/p>\n

However, with just over five minutes remaining, the ARC doctor forced Edwards off the field to undergo an HIA, which ruled him out for the remainder of the match.<\/p>\n

A visibly angry Edwards left the field, while Essendon coach Brad Scott appeared dumbfounded in the box.<\/p>\n

\"EdwardsEdwards was assessed after this high shot. Credit: Fox Footy<\/p>\n

ARC doctors have the power to intervene if they believe it\u2019s warranted and Morris said they stepped in after a disagreement with the Essendon doctor.<\/p>\n

\u201cEssendon took Tom Edwards off the field and they tested him to the best knowledge of the doctor,\u201d Morris said on The Agenda Setters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tested his jaw, made sure he was OK. They sent him back out there.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s in that moment that the doctor from Essendon and the doctor in the ARC had a disagreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the doctor from Essendon thought it was OK to send Tom Edwards back out. The ARC doctor disagreed. And that\u2019s when the ARC doctor intervened again, bringing Tom Edwards off the field with seven points of difference and five minutes remaining at a crucial time of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen he was subjected to an HIA. He then passed that HIA. But, of course, that\u2019s 15 minutes. So he missed the rest of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can just imagine what would have happened had that been Nick Daicos in a prelim final being taken off by an ARC doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morris said he spoke to the AFL about the issue and they have conceded the ARC doctor made an error in what they are describing as a \u201cmiscommunication\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve conceded that this was a miscommunication and they\u2019ve supported the position of the Essendon club doctor over the ARC club doctor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re saying that Essendon was right and the AFL ARC doctor on this occasion was wrong and they will continue to review their processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caroline Wilson described the disagreement between the doctors as a \u201cblow-up\u201d, while Morris added that other people around heard it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would classify it as a heated disagreement,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe two doctors, which is not unusual for two doctors to disagree on something clinical like this, but this was noticed by people around them. And there\u2019s no doubt that they were on very different sides of the coin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson said it was an \u201cunacceptable\u201d, while Kane Cornes added that it sets a \u201cdangerous\u201d precedent.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery dangerous when a doctor in Melbourne overrules a club doctor who knows his player better than anyone,\u201d Cornes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is very, very dangerous ground that we\u2019re going into.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The AFL has been forced to admit the ARC doctor made a crucial error during Gold Coast\u2019s thrilling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619365,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,11231,9130,1625,3863,588,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-619364","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-essendon-bombers","14":"tag-gold-coast-suns","15":"tag-lifestyle","16":"tag-sponsored-content","17":"tag-sport","18":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}