By Mathew Stokes
It was about two years after my 200-game AFL career ended in 2016 that I began to get migraines, headaches and notice memory loss.
Occasionally, when driving between Geelong and Melbourne, I would reach my destination with no sense of what had happened between leaving and arriving. My vision would also occasionally become blurry, with coloured spots floating before my eyes.
Having been one of the lucky players who recovered relatively quickly from the five to eight concussions I suffered during my career, the symptoms were unexpected and a little scary.
Former Geelong forward Mathew Stokes suspects he suffered five to eight concussions during his playing career.Credit:Sebastian Costanzo
That fear has only heightened in the past 12 months as the concussion discussion has become broader and former players are reporting difficulties which they ascribe to head trauma.
Some of their accounts break my heart. I would never want my experience to impact perceptions of what some past players are going through, because their stories are real with crippling symptoms stopping people from working.
I also know each circumstance is different, and many players affected are reluctant to open up because they are concerned as to how it might affect their own employment prospects.
But there are also many ex-players who deal with a range of issues, including the effects of concussion due to their careers, who are fortunate enough to function post-playing, as long as they access and receive appropriate support. I count myself as one of those lucky ones.
As my headaches re-occurred I sought help immediately, seeing the Cats’ former club doctor Geoff Allan, who pointed me in the right direction for help. About six years ago, I began seeing a neurologist. I also began seeing a psychologist through the AFLPA network to help me adjust to what was happening, and a pain specialist to assist with the ongoing pain I felt as a result of football.
The neurologist has told me the injuries due to knocks I received aren’t great, but by being proactive and seeing professionals as soon as symptoms arose, I can manage the impact it has on my life. I count myself lucky.
Liam Picken is treated as he lies on the ground after a head knock against Hawthorn in 2018.Credit:Scott Barbour
For the past six years, I have been getting my brain scanned every six months in an attempt to stay ahead of any deterioration that might be happening, with all consultations and support funded by the players’ association through their programs designed to support past players. I also have a bulge in my neck that affects the nerves in my arm, which is excruciating at times but thankfully, with good advice, can be managed.
All I expected post-playing was that I would be covered from a medical perspective and, so far, that has happened and I am grateful.
I have the attitude that the game set me on my path and gave me financial rewards I would never have had, and I also took some risks that, in hindsight, were not that sensible.
“The neurologist has told me the injuries due to knocks I received aren’t great, but by being proactive and seeing professionals as soon as symptoms arose, I can manage the impact it has on my life.”
Mathew Stokes
I remember sitting in players’ association meetings where concussion was discussed and hardly listening. I know I had a drink after some head knocks. I was also lucky enough to be at the Cats for most of my career where both coaches, Mark Thompson and Chris Scott, and the two football managers, Neil Balme and Steve Hocking, put my health above all other considerations.
I’m not sure I did the same in my 20s as I wanted to train and play. Telling officials exactly how you felt was not the culture of professional sport in my time, and was even less so in eras before I played.
So I see dual imperatives facing the AFL as they face up to concussion and the dangers head trauma can present.
They must set up a system that supports ex-players as best they can because they contributed to the game, while all players also have some responsibility to own the decisions they made in their own careers.
In my experience, there are very few who don’t accept some responsibility. Hearing their voices is important, too, because it will reduce cynicism within the community about what obligation the game owes former players.
What is also important to me, and others who are advocating for support of others due to concussion, is that the current players and the next generation of male and female players have less to worry about than I do.
That means investing in ways to understand and treat concussion better in the modern game and improve the development pathway for juniors, so their brain health is not compromised by playing such a great game.
Finding common ground would, pardon the pun, achieve more than banging heads with each other.
The issue is real. The difficulties some former players are experiencing are heartbreaking, and we can support them. But our biggest responsibility is acting on what we do know now in a clever way so current and future generations of players are looked after.
And that responsibility extends beyond the AFL to country and community football. We must get this right, and AFL players and coaches, past and present, can lead the way.
Mathew Stokes is a Larrakia man who played 200 games with Geelong and Essendon. He played in Geelong’s 2007 and 2011 premiership teams.
