Jordan Lewis speaks out on concussion, Angus Brayshaw and Brayden Maynard cleared by AFL tribunal, News, Latest, Reaction
Four-time AFL premiership winner Jordan Lewis has urged Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw to put his wellbeing first after suffering a serious concussion in last Thursday’s qualifying final against Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard.
But the Hawthorn star says he feels “comfortable” as Maynard was cleared by the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night and the star defender is now free to play in the Pies’ preliminary final.
Lewis himself suffered a horrific concussion against the Western Bulldogs in 2010, which left him struggling for a month.
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Speaking on AFL 360 about the controversial Brayshaw incident, he said: “It’s difficult and the first thing I would say is that I’m clearly not a medical expert and can only speak from experience.”
“I’ve told this story before – my own experience was that I was fine during the week, I was fine, no headaches, no symptoms, nothing.
“I could sleep. And since it was the season, I was able to train at a really low level.
“But it was a match day where I really struggled. This is the thing that was really hard for me to overcome.
“It was a month. It’s been a month full of football – high intensity football. So the home and away season is probably not as intense as the finals.
“So if I had my time again and knew what I’ve been through and experienced, it would have been difficult for me to make this decision, but I would have liked a month off football. “That’s my own experience.”
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Lewis said that although he didn’t take that time off at the time, in hindsight he wished he had acted differently.
“I didn’t do that at the time… But it also comes with the fact that I thought I was fine during the week, so see for yourself and pass all the required tests. But when it came to match day, we had big problems.
“I compared it to drinking three or four beers before playing. I couldn’t test that at the time.”
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But Lewis added that he was pleased with the decision to clear Maynard of rough conduct for the unfortunate incident.
“Yes that was me. I still believe there are elements of our game that need to be limited to accidents. People can argue that he had other options, but he chose to jump up and choke.
“When this incident happened, I watched the whole weekend. Do you know how many people jumped in the air and tried to smother the ball? Heaps! Many.
“But no one collided with the oncoming player. It happens in our game. It was unfortunate for Angus that he fell unconscious. But I feel comfortable with him being released.”
Brayshaw suffered several concussions early in his career and wears head protection during games, but his latest blow could force the Demon star into retirement.
He has been ruled out for Friday’s qualifying final against Carlton.
Coach Simon Goodwin said: “We need to make sure the athlete, in this case Angus, is clear, is fully functional and we are really clear about what happens next.”
“But I don’t think anything is off the table at this point. We need to make sure he implements these protocols properly.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2023-jordan-lewis-opens-up-on-concussion-angus-brayshaw-brayden-maynard-cleared-by-afl-tribunal-news-latest-reaction/news-story/36f92a9bf6011a34e5cbc913252e5b6a Jordan Lewis speaks out on concussion, Angus Brayshaw and Brayden Maynard cleared by AFL tribunal, News, Latest, Reaction
