Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has been criticized for denying that Tom Liberatore suffered a concussion in the club’s loss to Essendon on Friday, despite the star player collapsing on the Marvel Stadium turf.
Essendon bounced back from their AFL Gather Round horror show with a huge 29-point win over the Western Bulldogs.
The loss was compounded by the incident involving Liberatore late in the competition, with the veteran falling to the ground and lying face down for several seconds, with a concerned Darcy Parish rushing to his aid.
In stunning scenes, Liberatore stood up and played the game.
Western Bulldogs star Tom Liberatore falls to the Marvel Stadium turf, where he is assisted by Essendon player Darcy Parish.
Liberatore had been involved in a number of difficult collisions, including hits on Todd Goldstein and Jake Stringer.
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge downplayed the incident, saying Liberatore had stumbled because of an ankle problem, not because of a concussion.
Liberatore had suffered some heavy knocks during the match, including a collision with Todd Goldstein which resulted in a free kick for the Essendon giant.
He also took a hit from Essendon star Jake Stringer just before the fall and was clearly dazed when he got back to his feet.
“Stumbling after a competition like this doesn’t look good. (Bulldogs Physician) Gary Zimmerman would be watching that closely. That’s worrying,” former Hawthorn Ben Dixon told Fox Footy Live.
After the match, Beveridge downplayed the incident, saying Liberatore had simply stumbled.
‘He’s fine. He for some reason lost his balance and stumbled, but he’s fine. He’s being treated and there’s no concussion or anything like that,’ he said.
But fans weren’t buying it and called for action to be taken against the Bulldogs coach.
Really him? “This is negligence and it’s very concerning that a senior coach would overlook a guy who showed late concussion symptoms,” one fan posted on social media.
“You don’t have to be a doctor or even Einstein to see clearly what happened, given the case studies we’ve seen recently.”
As the players remained on the field after the full-time siren, Liberatore was still struggling to stay on his feet.
All was forgiven in the full moment when Liberatore shared a hug with Stringer, who had delivered the harsh blow moments before collapsing.
Channel 7 chief soccer reporter Mitch Cleary spoke with Liberatore after the game and said the star player was also downplaying any concerns about a concussion.
“(Liberatore) said he sprained his ankle and lost his balance,” Cleary said.
Liberatore also blamed the ankle and said he had no concussion symptoms.
“No, everything’s fine,” he told ABC in a post-match interview.
‘I lost balance on my ankle. I sprained my ankle at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
‘When I got up, I fell again. Everything is alright.
‘No symptoms [of concussion] and full remembrance.’
However, fans said the nature of the fall showed there was more to it than just a trip or stumble.
“It’s a totally normal way to fall if you don’t have a concussion,” one fan posted.
“He clearly hits his head with a blow, collapses ten seconds later, runs around clearly dazed and confused for the rest of the game – ‘ankle,'” another posted.
“A way to cover up his doctors from coming out to check him.”
Other fans pointed out that Essendon Parish would not have called the bench for medical help if the incident was simply Liberatore losing his balance.
‘This response from Bevo deserves an explanation from the AFL considering the head is sacrosanct. “There’s no chance Parish would react that way if Libba just ‘stumbled,'” one posted on social media.
The AFL introduced a 12-day concussion policy in 2023 and maintained the policy for the 2024 season.
The league also released the Strategic Plan for the Management of Sports-Related Concussion in Australian Football in 2023, which details the strategy to 2026.