{"id":374779,"date":"2024-03-10T19:58:51","date_gmt":"2024-03-10T20:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=374779"},"modified":"2024-03-11T01:07:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T01:07:20","slug":"lloyd-calls-for-afl-overhaul-amid-worrying-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=374779","title":{"rendered":"Lloyd calls for AFL overhaul amid worrying issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

E\ufeffssendon<\/a> legend Matthew Lloyd<\/a> has lauded the AFL's new stringent concussion protocols<\/a><\/p>\n

While the league has opted to\ufeff not change the mandatory 12-day return to play protocol for its AFL and AFLW listed players, it has updated rulings for all players below the elite level.<\/p>\n

Any player from amateur leagues, as well as junior footballers, all the way up to VFL and VFLW listed players will now need to be sidelined for a minimum 21 days after suffering a concussion.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Bennett 'blunder' leaves major cloud over Dolphins<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/strong>\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> Dragons chasing Wallabies star in shock move\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Kiwi claims miracle catch as Aussies crumble\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

It is a step up from the 12 days that were originally in place, which Lloyd, who is a junior football coach for Haileybury Grammar, believes is the right call for the protection of youngsters starting their footballing journey.<\/p>\n

"I think it's good. We've always known how to manage a hamstring and those sort of things, but we've never really known how to treat the brain with enough respect," Lloyd told Wide World of Sports<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"MELBOURNE,<\/p>\n

"Part of me thinks it would be good if it was across the board … the same rules for them (AFL), the same rules for lower levels."<\/p>\n

Despite the \ufeff270-gamer being all for the new concussion protocols, he doesn't believe that headgear will become a norm in the modern game.<\/p>\n

"The science and evidence says it (helmets) doesn't protect your brain at all. It's sometimes more a mental measure for players who do wear helmets more than anything," Lloyd said.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffThat has been ruled out, that helmets need to be compulsory.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/p>\n

"But we're just getting better and better at understanding how much we have to respect if a player gets a knock.<\/p>\n

"We've had a couple at Haileybury this year, a couple of knocks and you make sure they're not back for a couple of weeks, now it's going to be more. We give players longer (off) who have the (concussion) symptoms.<\/p>\n

"Don't put any pressure on anybody because long term health is more important than anything."<\/p>\n

Lloyd also commented on\ufeff North Melbourne player Jy Simpkin's recovery, after his brutal knock from St Kilda's Jimmy Webster during a practice match<\/a>, ruling him out of at least round one.<\/p>\n

\"Ugly<\/p>\n

Webster was subsequently rubbed out for seven weeks.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"I'd be surprised if he's (Simpkin) not back after that (round one)," Lloyd said.<\/p>\n

However, Lloyd admits that Simpkin, who has suffered three concussions in under 12 months, could very likely sit out a larger part of the season, or bounce back quickly.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"But every situation is different. I heard Joel Selwood say once that he had some of the hardest hits of all time but he never had any lingering affects and was able to play two weeks later," he said.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/p>\n

"Other guys might get the most innocuous knock and they're not right for six weeks to two months."<\/p>\n

It comes as the Essendon power forward will be officially pulling on the boots for one special game, 14 years after he retired from the AFL.<\/p>\n

It won't be in the red and black of the Bombers, though.<\/p>\n

Instead, the key goalkicker, who booted a whopping 926 goals over his 270-game career, will be playing for one lucky local club.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/p>\n

He'll be part of the Carlton Draft on April 30, where he'll be drafted to a team across Australia to take part in one special game, aiding a club that may need to extra on field boost.<\/p>\n

Lloyd is sure to give them just the boost they need, but hopes he won't have to go too far when he is selected on draft night.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"\ufeffI never travelled too well as a player in my AFL career," Lloyd said.<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old is part of the Carlton Draught alongside Geelong and Hawthorn great Isaac Smith, as well as Tigers champion Trent Cotchin.\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

E\ufeffssendon legend Matthew Lloyd has lauded the AFL's new stringent concussion protocols While the league has opted to\ufeff not change the mandatory 12-day return to […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":330165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374779"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=374779"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":374784,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374779\/revisions\/374784"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/330165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=374779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=374779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=374779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}