‘It’s shattering’: Venables believes correct concussion treatment could’ve saved his AFL career
Retired West Coast premiership player Daniel Venables believes he could still be playing in the AFL had he received proper treatment for his career-ending concussion-related issues which included an alarming seven brain bleeds.
Venables played his last game for the Eagles three years ago when he was involved in a frightful collision that saw his head connect flush with Melbourne forward Tim Smith’s hip in a marking contest, before hitting his head heavily again on the ground shortly after.
To this day, the 23-year-old is still dealing with the after-effects of that hit to his head but at the time, Venables claimed the AFL‘s controversial concussion adviser Paul McCrory told him to do “nothing”.
McCrory is now subject to AFL and independent investigations amid allegations of scientific plagiarism and an enforceable undertaking he provided to the Medical Board of Australia designed to restrict elements of his work.
“I was told to do nothing pretty much, and I got put on antidepressants to fix my headaches,” Venables told Channel 7.
“Seven bleeds in my brain, and I didn’t do anything about it.”
The former No. 13 draft pick says the AFL “100 per cent” let him down.
“I wasted a lot of time, the most important part of my rehab,” he said.
“Yeah, for sure (I could be playing footy).
“There were a lot of red flags looking back on it, and it’s shattering.”
Venables went to America in June on an AFL- and West Coast-funded trip to undergo a neurological program which saw him do four sessions a day, five days a week.
“It’s like doing two years’ worth of rehab in a one-month block which is pretty challenging,” he said.
“I have a flicker in my eye that goes to the left, which causes a lot of headaches and neck pain.
“I’m trying to retrain my eyes back to normal, so by moving in all sorts of angles (in the Gyro Sphere, the neurologist) is trying to target the right side of my brain, which is where I had my seven bleeds.”
As part of the program, electrical currents were implemented to stimulate Venables’ brain and muscles to work in concert.
“They put a current on one side of my neck, and it flowed all the way through my head,” Venables said.
While Venables feels clearly let down by the AFL, and lays most of the blame at their feet for the situation he now finds himself in, he still thinks that his former club can do more to protect their players.
“If the AFL aren’t going to, then I feel like West Coast should take it into their own hands independently and get this objective baseline testing at the start of the year, whether that’s ocular testing, vestibular testing or cognition testing,” he said.
“It will take the players three hours to do, but it can save their lives to be honest.”
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