Riewoldt: Doc made right callChloe Saltau
The Age
April 3, 2011JACK Riewoldt yesterday conceded the medical team that prevented him from returning to the field against St Kilda on Friday night was right to withstand his furious protests.
Riewoldt pointed and yelled at Richmond officials at quarter-time, imploring them not to substitute him out of the game after he hit his head hard on the MCG turf when tumbling from an attempted high mark, remonstrating from the bench when the decision was made.
While the Tigers excused his behaviour on the grounds that such agitation can be a symptom of concussion, the irrepressible forward said he was simply shattered when replaced by substitute Brad Helbig during the second quarter of the drawn match.
''Very minimal sleep last night,'' Riewoldt told his Twitter followers. ''Doc made the right call but as you could see I was shattered that I couldn't play on. The boys made me proud.''
The incident provided another dramatic test of the AFL's new concussion guidelines, and came after the league's football operations boss Adrian Anderson called on players, as well as club medical staff and the AFL, to take responsibility for concussion.
In this instance, Richmond doctor Greg Hickey had to withstand significant pressure from the furious player, and later confided in former Tiger champion Matthew Richardson that the decision to keep Riewoldt from returning to the field was the hardest he had made in his career as an AFL doctor.
While Richardson speculated that Riewoldt might have been allowed back on in previous years, the call backed up Anderson's assertion that it is more difficult for players to push the envelope nowadays because the concussion tests used by doctors are more sophisticated.
The Coleman medallist, whose legs were limp as he was helped from the field, reported feeling unwell after half-time, but Richmond expects him to be fit for Saturday night's clash with Hawthorn at the MCG.
''Jack has pulled up well this morning and is showing no ill-effects from his concussion,'' Richmond's elite performance manager Matthew Hornsby said.
''We'll continue to monitor him throughout the week, but at this stage we expect him to play against Hawthorn on Saturday night. Being agitated and emotional are common reactions to concussions, and we've seen that on numerous occasions.
''The decision … not to allow him back on the field was absolutely the right one. In our view he was not fit to see out the match.''
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick also defended the ill-tempered performance of his star player, after the Tigers fought back to draw the match without him. ''That's his passion, that's why he's a good player - he's a passionate kid,'' Hardwick said after the game.
''The doc made a good call; at the end of the day he wasn't right to come back on.''
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/riewoldt-doc-made-right-call-20110402-1csk2.html
