WAFL to trial concussion card system

A blue card will be trialled in the WAFL pre-season matches beginning this weekend.

The introduction of the card will see players with suspected concussions or a head knock as a result of a rough conduct charge, removed by umpires for a minimum of 15 minutes to undergo SCAT 5 testing by medical staff.

To ensure no disadvantage occurs, the player responsible for the reportable offence and suspected injury will also be shown the Blue Card and sidelined for 15 minutes.

The trial is set to be a nation first across both the men's and is set to introduced in the women's competitions post their mid-season bye.

WAFC CEO Michael Roberts said the trial was a step in the right direction to further ensuring player safety was paramount.

“Concussions can be serious and create lifelong issues for players especially if they aren’t handled in the correct way when they occur, so we are taking our responsibility for educating clubs and protecting players seriously,” he said.

“We are really proud of this opportunity to pave the way for the rest of the competition nationally and following the trial, hope to see this implemented as a standard across all of our WAFL competitions for the 2022 season.”

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