The Brisbane Lions have been fined $20,000 by the AFL following a non-deliberate breach of concussion guidelines during the AFLW grand final two months ago.
Half of the penalty will be included in the club’s AFLW soft cap while the other half is suspended — but the league has sent a key warning to the Lions ahead of the AFL season.
The suspended $10,000 will be due if coach Chris Fagan’s team commits a similar breach, with the penalty carrying over to the next AFLW season later this year.
Analysis, local footy and the biggest moments, Seven and 7plus are the home of footy shows for every fan. Stream them all for free on 7plus >>
The sanction stems from the Lions’ handling of concussion concerns surrounding Sophie Conway late in the third quarter of their premiership victory.
An AFL official in the review centre observed Conway stumble and ordered Brisbane to remove her from the game and complete a head injury assessment.
But the message was missed and Conway continued playing following an initial conversation with the club doctor at three-quarter time.
“He undertook some assessment of Conway, with Conway telling the doctor she lost balance due to physical exhaustion rather than contact with any player,” the AFL said.
“While the Brisbane doctor was in the process of reviewing video footage of the incident, Conway was allowed to return to the field without a (head injury assessment) being conducted and played the first few minutes of the fourth quarter.”
Conway subsequently went to the bench and was cleared, permitted to return for the final minutes of the match.
“The AFL’s concussion guidelines require strict and consistent adherence to protect the health and safety of players,” the AFL said.
“Whilst Brisbane’s breach of the concussion guidelines was at the lower end of the scale … it is important that clubs have processes in place to avoid a breach as occurred here.”
AFL general counsel Stephen Meade acknowledged the breach was not deliberate.
“(But) we set high standards that must be met in the assessment of head trauma to avoid the risk of further injury,” he said.