Where to now for Kosi?

[saintspremiers]

Maybe its his brain injury, or maybe he was never the smartest tool in the shed, but to come back after such an extended layoff and do a stupid sling tackle says volumes of where he is at.

I reckon come season end that's it for poor old Kos.

He desperately needed game time but in 3 rounds time when he returns Blake should be established back in the side and Gardy close to returning.

I can't see a future for Kos, both short and long term unfortunately.

[IluvHarvey]

Maybe its his brain injury, or maybe he was never the smartest tool in the shed, but to come back after such an extended layoff and do a stupid sling tackle says volumes of where he is at.

I reckon come season end that's it for poor old Kos.

He desperately needed game time but in 3 rounds time when he returns Blake should be established back in the side and Gardy close to returning.

I can't see a future for Kos, both short and long term unfortunately.

What a load of crap! It was a great tackle. You can't tell me in the heat of the moment you can pull up on a tackle like that.

Kos is a huge necessity for the structure of our team. Just Ask Roo!

There is a place for Kos in the team. The only reason there wouldn't be is if we either recruit a big ready monster of a forward or some our younger big guys get that pack crashing mentallity.

[Dr Spaceman]

Maybe its his brain injury, or maybe he was never the smartest tool in the shed, but to come back after such an extended layoff and do a stupid sling tackle says volumes of where he is at.

I reckon come season end that's it for poor old Kos.

He desperately needed game time but in 3 rounds time when he returns Blake should be established back in the side and Gardy close to returning.

I can't see a future for Kos, both short and long term unfortunately.

What a ridiculous post.

Most experts agree it was a "perfect tackle" and yet you call it stupid and try to link it to a brain injury!

Fair dinkum

[Grantaire]

While I disagree with the original post re the tackle, I do think Kosi is a 'dumb' footballer, and wonder how much longer he has left in the game.

[Moccha]

Dumb post

[St DAC]

I don't think it's the end for Kosi, as contested marking players are quite valuable in today's game, but there's no way it was a perfect tackle under today's MRP regime. Sling tackles are outlawed, and that's what it was.

[Cairnsman]

Who said he had a brain injury.

Has this been confirmed by Kosi or the club.

It's only speculation that he has a brain injury if it hasn't been confirmed by those sources.

[Leo.J]

[Johnny Member]

What is the perfect tackle now?

Grab a bloke, and just stand there holding him?


Seiously, what are Demetriou and Anderson doing to our game? Fair dinkum.

What's next.

[Cairnsman]

What is the perfect tackle now?

Grab a bloke, and just stand there holding him?


Seiously, what are Demetriou and Anderson doing to our game? Fair dinkum.

What's next.

You have to be a marketing consultant or a mother to understand it.

[Johnny Member]

What is the perfect tackle now?

Grab a bloke, and just stand there holding him?


Seiously, what are Demetriou and Anderson doing to our game? Fair dinkum.

What's next.

You have to be a marketing consultant or a mother to understand it.

See this is what reallt irks me.

I'd rather the game of aussie rules footy be played in local parks with 50 people watching and it remain the sport that it is, than become a non-contact entertainment product that is worth squillions of dollars.


Really, what's more important? The game? Or the AFL?

[Cairnsman]

What is the perfect tackle now?

Grab a bloke, and just stand there holding him?


Seiously, what are Demetriou and Anderson doing to our game? Fair dinkum.

What's next.

You have to be a marketing consultant or a mother to understand it.

See this is what reallt irks me.

I'd rather the game of aussie rules footy be played in local parks with 50 people watching and it remain the sport that it is, than become a non-contact entertainment product that is worth squillions of dollars.


Really, what's more important? The game? Or the AFL?

You hear more and more Aussie Rules people say this and that's why I can' help but think there is a market for a rebel league. The other thing that I think will come in the future is a player strike.

What's that saying: power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[markinUSA]

Please believe me, and I am 100% certain on this, if you have had a fractured skull, you have a brain injury.

There are two types of brain injuries: closed head injuries and open injuries.

What usually happens when there is a serious collision involving the head is what is called a 'coup contra coup' injury - the brain is like a piece of jelly, and is very soft, but the skull is very hard. The brain (which is soft like jelly) hits forward and backwards inside the skull. This is basically guaranteed in an incident of that severity. That forwards and backwards smashing of a very soft organ causes the brain injury.

Kosi's recovery has actually been remarkable - for someone with a fractured skull, he would be in the top 1% of anyone with such an injury. The slight differences which people might notice are relatively tiny compared with many others. Good on him, I say, and I wish others with similar injuries had such good recoveries.

Having said that, pre-injury characteristics greatly influence outcomes. He is so fortunate that he was an elite athlete, and was supported by such a tremendous professional support team - not just in the hospital, but over the medium to long-term at the Saints. All of that would have aided his recovery immensely.

People can make too much of the stigma associated with the term "brain injury". Many people who get a concussion get a mild brain injury. Surely you would recognize that the injury he sustained was far more severe than that.
He definitely, defintely, definitely had a brain injury.

[Johnny Member]

Luke Ball had bruising on the brain too.

[westy]

Scott Stevens has announced his retirement from the Crows because of post-concussion problems following his round 3 head injury! We still don't know if Justin Koschitzke has ever had brain scans and if he has, what were the results. Besides that, his tackle was legitimate and the AFL is rapidly turning this great game into something more suited to Ken Nancy-Boys.

[Johnny Member]

Scott Stevens has announced his retirement from the Crows because of post-concussion problems following his round 3 head injury! We still don't know if Justin Koschitzke has ever had brain scans and if he has, what were the results. Besides that, his tackle was legitimate and the AFL is rapidly turning this great game into something more suited to Ken Nancy-Boys.

I thought he recently had brain scans to guage whether or not there was any longer term damage.
They said they compared it with scans done at the time and he was fine.

[westy]

Well that is a relief then.

[Johnny Member]

Well that is a relief then.

I could be wrong though.

I'll try to find the article.

[Johnny Member]

Saints football manager Greg Hutchison said on Monday night the scan revealed Koschitzke had no long-term damage.

"Obviously, everyone gets concerned with a hit," Hutchison said.

"He had some scans last week and the scan showed he was in exactly the same position he was in six years ago when he had a scan.

"It means there is no long-term damage likely to happen.

"The scan showed his cognitive awareness or his cognitive state is as it was on his previous scan, and he was extremely relieved on that."

[CURLY]

Maybe its his brain injury, or maybe he was never the smartest tool in the shed, but to come back after such an extended layoff and do a stupid sling tackle says volumes of where he is at.

I reckon come season end that's it for poor old Kos.

He desperately needed game time but in 3 rounds time when he returns Blake should be established back in the side and Gardy close to returning.

I can't see a future for Kos, both short and long term unfortunately.

Never stepped foot on a football field I take it. You are a dead set clown.

[Cairnsman]

Upon reflection I'd say that duty of care legislation has a lot to do with how the laws of the game are changing and not only the mothers and marketing consultants.

If you use Kosi as an example there is probably very little chance he has a brain injury because the club and the entire management chain that supervises his employment would be at serious risk of breaching their duty of care and face serious personal consequences for breaching the legislation.

Anyone that has ever performed a workplace risk assessment would know that if you applied the same risk assessment to an Aussie Rules playing field you’d get a fairly high score and if after you calculated a high score and then didn't take measures to eliminate hazards or potential for harm then you would be failing in your duty of care. It makes sense however the AFL have probably known this for a while and are making the changes as quickly as they can without it effecting the product too much.

[westy]

Very succinctly put Cairnsman. I don't mean to harp-on about Kosi, but I have 2 more questions. 1/.How long ago did that creep Giannsiracusa take-out Kosi, was it six years ago. 2/. Were the scans that were taken 6 years ago before or after that injury. I refer back to the recent 'Four Corners' programme which revealed that brain damage received from sporting collisions is not always discovered until an autopsy is performed! That frightens me, considering Kosi's sometimes odd decisions

[Johnny Member]

Upon reflection I'd say that duty of care legislation has a lot to do with how the laws of the game are changing and not only the mothers and marketing consultants.

If you use Kosi as an example there is probably very little chance he has a brain injury because the club and the entire management chain that supervises his employment would be at serious risk of breaching their duty of care and face serious personal consequences for breaching the legislation.

Anyone that has ever performed a workplace risk assessment would know that if you applied the same risk assessment to an Aussie Rules playing field you’d get a fairly high score and if after you calculated a high score and then didn't take measures to eliminate hazards or potential for harm then you would be failing in your duty of care. It makes sense however the AFL have probably known this for a while and are making the changes as quickly as they can without it effecting the product too much.

And that's clearly where this whole head thing came from. I get that.

What I don't get, is why the responsibility isn't put back to the players? Make them sign something along the lines 'Yeah, well derrr. Of course I know I'm gonna get hurt playing footy. I've known it my whole life, and it's one of the reasons I play the sport in the first place! As long as the umpires check players beofre the game for long finger nails and knives tucked into their socks - I'm happy. I'll cop any injuries that come my way, because it's my choice to play this sport'.


Or, make them wear padding and helmets instead.

[Cairnsman]

Upon reflection I'd say that duty of care legislation has a lot to do with how the laws of the game are changing and not only the mothers and marketing consultants.

If you use Kosi as an example there is probably very little chance he has a brain injury because the club and the entire management chain that supervises his employment would be at serious risk of breaching their duty of care and face serious personal consequences for breaching the legislation.

Anyone that has ever performed a workplace risk assessment would know that if you applied the same risk assessment to an Aussie Rules playing field you’d get a fairly high score and if after you calculated a high score and then didn't take measures to eliminate hazards or potential for harm then you would be failing in your duty of care. It makes sense however the AFL have probably known this for a while and are making the changes as quickly as they can without it effecting the product too much.

And that's clearly where this whole head thing came from. I get that.

What I don't get, is why the responsibility isn't put back to the players? Make them sign something along the lines 'Yeah, well derrr. Of course I know I'm gonna get hurt playing footy. I've known it my whole life, and it's one of the reasons I play the sport in the first place! As long as the umpires check players beofre the game for long finger nails and knives tucked into their socks - I'm happy. I'll cop any injuries that come my way, because it's my choice to play this sport'.


Or, make them wear padding and helmets instead.

I don't think the legislation would allow a player or employee if you like to absolve their employers of any safety risk.

There already exists a precedence of law in similar cases and essentially things such as ‘liability waivers’ probably don’t hold up legally anymore. The reason being is because generally the ‘liability waiver’ is a document that identifies and records the hazard and potential for harm and the law requires that if a hazard and potential for harm has been identified then the necessary steps should be taken to eliminate or reduce them. So a waiver contradicts this requirement. The ‘liability waiver’ in the end is what may ensure you are in a lot of trouble.

So in Kosi’s case I don’t think he could say to the club there is potential for harm if I take the field of play but I absolve the club of all liability. I doubt very much Kosi would be allowed to play if he had a brain injury.
I would have thought that if there was even the slightest element of risk you would at least see him wearing a helmet to reduce the potential for harm but that is not the case. I reckon that the brain scan they did on Kosi a few weeks ago would have been as much about the clubs duty of care as it was about the care and concern for Kosi’s welfare. It’s a litigious world these days.

Any legal people in the house today?

[SainterK]

I have seen nothing to suggest that the players and the coach don't continue to rate him highly, quite the opposite actually.