THE AFL says it is continuing to learn how to best manage concussion and other brain-related trauma after a medical report revealed the late Graham 'Polly' Farmer suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
This is the first time CTE has been detected in an Australian football player, following research in a peer-reviewed scientific journal by Associate Professor Michael Buckland from the Australian Sports Brain Bank.
CTE can only be diagnosed following a brain examination after death, which makes it difficult to identify the extent of the disease in those who have played the game.
The discovery looms as a key point in the AFL's battle against the issue of concussion and head trauma.
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan told reporters on Thursday that he was grateful for Farmer and his family's decision to donate his brain to research.
"I just want to acknowledge and thank the Farmer family and Polly Farmer... for a significant action in donating his brain and (for) the learnings that we'll get from that and the medical fraternity will get from that," McLachlan said.
"Clearly, it's about prevention, diagnosis and about research, and we'll continue to learn.
"The health and safety of our players is paramount and we'll continue to work with the medical fraternity and the experts in all those three areas to make sure our game is safe at all times."
In a statement released later on Thursday, the AFL said it had not seen the detailed report of Farmer's diagnosis, but it supported the work of the Australian Sports Brain Bank and welcomed the information that came out of the research.
"As knowledge and understanding of concussion has increased, the AFL has strengthened match day protocols, changed the Laws of the Game to further discourage high contact and has improved the identification of potential concussive incidents through the use of video," the League said in a statement.
"The AFL further strengthened the Concussion Management Guidelines for the 2020 AFL and AFLW seasons which reflects our ongoing conservative approach in managing concussions at the elite level.
"The AFL will continue to invest in research to better identify and manage concussion and other brain related trauma at all levels of the game."
Earlier in the week, AFL player manager Peter Jess told SEN radio that concussion was one of the game's most pressing issues.
"I'm dealing with 130 past players, my worst cases are the younger blokes. One guy who retired at 25, who's now 27," Jess said on Monday.
"He had 14 clinical concussions in his 56-game career. He had a concussion every four weeks.
Hawthorn premiership player John Platten, who says he is dealing with the effects of several head knocks during his career, also discussed his concerns with the inability to diagnose CTE in past players while they were still alive.
"I want to know now if there's any problems in the future. I don't want to know in 20 years' time," Platten told SEN.
"Something's got to be done about it."
