The AFL's dilemma: How to protect players without changing the game

analysis CTE poses a massive dilemma for the AFL. Experts say urgent action is needed to protect players Tue 30 Jun 2026 at 4:46am On a winter's night at a suburban ground in St Albans, in Melbourne's west, a group of footy club presidents and officials are gathering to talk about the brain health of their players. Addressing them is the FIFTHQTR Foundation, an independent group led by former Carlton star Ken Hunter, dedicated to the welfare of former players at both the community and elite level. At one point, the group of about two dozen local footy officials are asked if they know the difference between the brain disease CTE and concussion. Most in the room shake their heads. The AFL says it is doing everything it can to educate about head trauma and footy, but Hunter says these people shaking their heads shows the league could do so much more. There's a similar lack of knowledge among parents on the sidelines of their children's matches in country towns and cities across Australia. Mums and dads may understand what a concussion is, but most are completely unaware of the issue of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The degenerative brain disease CTE is linked to tackles, bumps, whiplash and the hits that often don't cause a concussion. The AFL's dilemma Four Corners this week revealed that the brain disease, which can only be diagnosed after death, has now been found in 33 former Australian Rules footballers. Many of them were young people — former players aged in their 20s, 30, 40s. Some played at the top level of the AFL, while some were semi-professional and some played at an amateur level. CTE poses a massive dilemma for the AFL: Contact is an essential part of the game, but there is growing evidence it can also be a grave threat to the health and welfare of its players. The youngest Australian footballer to be diagnosed with CTE is 23-year-old Nick Lowden, who died by suicide in 2023. His parents Kerry and Tony are appealing for more education and awareness of the issue. Nick's dad Tony Lowden, who has been involved in country footy clubs all his life, says his experience is that most people in the community are unaware about CTE. "If I go to a football match, and they ask about Nick, I tell them [Nick] had CTE and they look at you and it's an unknown thing [to them]. "The awareness, the education, that's what we want to see happen." 'A disease of exposure' Awareness is one thing, but finding ways to better protect players' brain health is key to the sport thriving in the future. The question now is what can be done to help prevent CTE? CTE is linked to the repetitive hits sustained playing contact sport. The cumulative, long-term impacts gradually trigger the build-up of abnormal protein in the brain, leading to brain cell death and tissue degeneration. Neuropathologist Michael Buckland, the founding and executive director of the Australian Sports Brain Bank, says CTE is not a disease of concussion. "It's a disease of exposure, and the way we're going to prevent it is by reducing exposure, just like skin cancer and the summer sun, you reduce your risk by reducing exposure," he says. Buckland believes the AFL should have a CTE prevention protocol at all levels of the game. Such a protocol could reduce how many times, and how hard, players are hit through measures such as reducing the number and duration of games and increasing the age at which young athletes start tackling. AFL executive Laura Kane says the health and safety of players is the league's highest priority and it has introduced numerous rule changes to protect the heads of players. Last week the league announced it would be introducing limits to contact in training, but it has not stipulated the details. Protecting young brains But what about community footy and school-aged football? Should there be contact training limits for kids? Buckland says the diagnosis of CTE in 33 Aussie Rules players shows the need for urgent action. All contact sports need to better look after children playing the game, he says. In Australian Rules football, kids can start tackling around the age of nine. Some experts believe kids should not be allowed to tackle until the age of 14. But Ann McKee, a world leading expert in CTE who has examined thousands of brains and found CTE in nearly 500 NFL players, believes it should go even further. "I know people say 14, but there's nothing magical about 14," says McKee, who is based at the Boston University CTE research centre. "I'd like it to be raised to 18 or even higher when a person is able to give their own consent for playing the sport and enduring the risks. "I would like a player to be fully informed about the potential risks before they engage in it." In late 2023, McKee's most extensive study of neurodegenerative disease in young contact sports athletes revealed more than 60 cases of CTE in athletes under 30. One of the youngest athletes in that cohort was 18-year-old US athlete Wyatt Bramwell, who had CTE caused by playing tackle football. Before he died by suicide in 2019, Bramwell recorded a video for his family and friends, in which he spoke of struggling with depression and paranoia. His parents gave the ABC permission to publish the video. "My life for the past four years has been a living hell inside of my head," he said. In the video, he urged his loved ones to donate his brain for research. Loading..."Wyatt was only playing high school level football," McKee says. "He loved football, but he was experiencing all sorts of symptoms. He had terrible thoughts. He was depressed … but he knew something was going on. Something was in his brain that he couldn't control … what I took away from Wyatt's video of himself [is]I think it expressed his agony … even though he was only 18, there were multiple lesions of CTE." Bramwell's mum Christie spoke to the ABC to raise awareness of CTE. She says her son "loved football so much", but she wants sporting bodies to better protect their players. "I want his legacy to make it safer for future players," Christie says. "I want people to know about the risk. We never thought it would happen to us. "I'm a nurse. We were vigilant in monitoring his hits. We had a communication system where I would get him to give me a thumbs up or down after a hit … but you can't see CTE, you can't see the damage. I want the conversation around safety to keep being had and I believe they should delay tackle football for as long as they can." Rapid advances offer hope Currently, CTE can only be diagnosed after death. But McKee says that could be about to change, as rapid advances in research bring closer what many consider the holy grail — the prospect of a test for CTE in living people. "At the rate that we're making discovery, I expect to be able to diagnose CTE during life within the next three years," McKee says. She says a diagnosis in life would give clarity to players suffering from the disease and allow them to better understand their treatment options. Meanwhile, the FIFTHQTR's Ken Hunter and Peter Venables continue to address local footy clubs in their spare time to raise awareness of player welfare issues including head trauma. Venables's son Daniel played and won a premiership with the West Coast Eagles but sustained a devastating brain injury which forced him into retirement at just 22. Since then, Peter has been determined to educate and support the community from the ground up. "There's some magnificent, good people there [at the AFL] … but it's about … pushing through and seeing things you don't want to see." As the footy community waits for a breakthrough and the likes of Hunter and Venables do the heavy lifting at the grassroots, experts believe the league should be acting now to protect current and future players. Watch Four Corners' full investigation into the AFL's brain trauma crisis on ABC iview. Loading...