Ex-Tiger reaches seven-figure settlement with club; Dons' injury crisis deepens

Sydney Morning Herald

16 hours ago

The Tigers declined to comment when contacted by this masthead. The club and the doctors had in their submissions to the court denied the original orthopaedic claims made by Zantuck.
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In 2022, Zantuck and his legal team successfully argued before Associate Justice Mary-Jane Ierodiaconou in the Victorian Supreme Court for an extension to be granted to the statute of limitations for bringing a civil claim.
In his writ, Zantuck, 43, claimed doctors gave him more than 20 epidural injections to ease his back pain and to keep training and playing, and that the club forced him to take part in a pre-season training camp that exacerbated his condition.
Zantuck, having been denied his request to sit out the camp, claimed he was ordered to carry a 30-kilogram backpack on daily hikes despite having stress fractures in his lower back. This weight was later reduced to 15-20 kilograms after he complained again of back pain.
Justice Ierodiaconou in 2022 ruled that 'Mr Zantuck's loss arising from the alleged injuries is substantial'.
'His evidence is that as a consequence of pain arising from his back injury, he has been unable to work in a stable job save for a six-month period in 2009. This has placed him in financial distress. Mr Zantuck's back pain is such that he uses a spinal stimulator,' Justice Ierodiaconou said.
Zantuck spent 2005 at Essendon, but the Bombers refused to administer the epidural injections, prompting Zantuck to believe the Tigers had mistreated him. Zantuck's AFL career ended after a fortnight of pre-season training at Carlton in 2006.
He had also lodged a separate concussion claim against the Tigers, but not specifically club doctors, having endured what he says were up to 30 concussions, leaving him with brain trauma.
This case remains open, but no further action has been taken since the initial court hearings. A source close to Zantuck, who did not wish to speak publicly because of the confidentiality reasons, said Zantuck was weighing up his options. However, it was unlikely he would opt in to joining the concussion class action against the AFL led by Margalit Lawyers, a case which continues to hit hurdles.
Zantuck has previously spoken of head knocks having led to a range of neurological disorders and several suicide attempts.
Griffin had claimed that Zantuck is at risk of early onset dementia and is at greater risk of CTE, a degenerative brain disease.
As part of Zantuck's submission, neuropsychologist Associate Professor Jennifer Batchelor said she suspected Zantuck has CTE, which was 'evidence of acquired cognitive impairment'.
Emerging Bombers star sent for scans
AAP
On the cusp of returning from injury, ace Essendon defender Zach Reid has been sent for scans after feeling tightness in his hamstring.
Sidelined with a hamstring strain for the past five weeks, the highly rated but injury-prone Reid had been pressing his case for selection.
But after training fully at Tullamarine on Wednesday, the 23-year-old experienced tightness late in the session.
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Reid has suffered a difficult start to his AFL career after being drafted with pick 10 in 2020.
He had been restricted to just nine games across his first four seasons, but had been enjoying a breakout year before being injured in the Dreamtime win against Richmond six weeks ago.
Reid's setback comes after Essendon's bye week was blighted by injuries on the training track to Mason Redman, Darcy Parish and Kyle Langford.
Redman (hamstring) will miss at least this Saturday's clash with Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium, with Parish (calf) and Langford (quad) ruled out indefinitely.
There were 14 players in the Bombers' injury update released on Tuesday, with four of them out for the season.
Before training on Wednesday, Essendon coach Brad Scott attempted to focus on the positives instead of the dire state of their injury list.
'We're just in a situation at the moment where we've just got to roll on,' Scott said.
'We'll select 23 fit and very capable players this weekend.
'That's the thing about the headlines, 'injury crisis' and all these things.
'I guarantee you it's not a crisis to those players who are on the fringes.
'It's an opportunity to put their name up in lights and get their opportunity.
'It's clearly not ideal, we'd love to have better availability, but we've had players emerge who wouldn't have had their opportunity otherwise.'
Meanwhile, Scott – formerly the general manager of football at the AFL – spoke about the changes to umpire contact, which have been introduced immediately.
Under a change by the league, players will face suspensions if they are found guilty of making contact with umpires four times within a two-year period.
'I just hope there's a deep dive being done into umpire positioning for umpires on the ground,' Scott said.
'Player fines are getting out of control at the moment.
'I understand the reasoning for it. The AFL has had their hand forced on this one ... everyone's got to take some responsibility for this, not just the players.
'The ball-ups are the problem.
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'The incidental umpire contact around the ground doesn't happen very often.'
The AFL Players' Association said the change was 'disappointing', adding that it wasn't consulted before the change ahead of round 17.
While agreeing umpires need to be protected, interim AFLPA boss Ben Smith said the match review and tribunal system is 'not working and needs to be reviewed and revised'.
'The safety of umpires is a critical component for the game, and it's one the players wholeheartedly agree with,' Smith said.
'However, unilaterally deciding to increase the penalties on the playing group to greater extremes without consultation is disappointing.
'The AFLPA wrote to the AFL weeks ago to request a forum where the players can sit down and genuinely discuss these issues holistically with the AFL.
'There are multiple factors that go into the number of fines increasing for careless contact with an umpire, such as additional umpires on the field and greater congestion around the ball, and the players feel the threshold of what constitutes incidental or accidental contact between players and umpires continues to shift.
'They ultimately believe these fines aren't proportionate to the acts committed.'
'We're pretty used to it': Grundy dismisses SCG surface fears
Vince Rugari, Jon Pierik
Brodie Grundy has played down concerns about the slippery surface at the SCG, coming as the Swans are adamant Sunday's clash against Fremantle will go ahead at their home venue.
The AFL's turf experts are overseeing this week's remediation efforts, focused on the Paddington End of the SCG, which has struggled to recover from the damage left by the stage for an Andrea Bocelli concert on April 3.
The surface became a national talking point after Friday night's match between Sydney and the Western Bulldogs, in which players continually lost their footing, prompting the extra scrutiny from the AFL and a broadside from Swans chairman Andrew Pridham, who said it was in an 'unacceptable' condition.
However, the Swans were adamant on Wednesday night that Sunday's clash will go ahead at the SCG. Club chief executive Tom Harley and Pridham have given no indication to club staff that the game will be moved.
The Swans have taken calls from Dockers fans in Perth travelling east for the game, but have allayed their concerns of a venue change.
The AFL was contacted for comment.
Players or officials from four different clubs have expressed their concerns about the state of the playing surface: the Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide, Greater Western Sydney, and the Dockers, whose coach Justin Longmuir was at the Swans-Bulldogs game and later said the SCG appeared to be 'unsafe' for players.
Giants captain Toby Greene, meanwhile, said on the Ausmerican Aces podcast that he wore metal studs for the first half of the round eight Sydney derby at the SCG after noting the 'shocking' state of the turf at training the day before. Metal studs are prohibited by the AFL, with players who wear them at risk of a $40,000 fine.
Wild weather in Sydney this week has raised speculation the SCG could deteriorate even further this week, but Grundy said the topic was not front of mind for him.
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'Look, it wasn't ideal,' Grundy said earlier on Wednesday about the state of the SCG last week.
'But as a player, I'm not really thinking about that; I'm just thinking about the contest at hand. Probably looking back, there were little moments where people were slipping over and what not, but that's going to happen when it's dewy and Friday night footy. I thought the contest generally for the game was a real spectacle that I thought fans got to enjoy, and as a player, I certainly enjoyed playing in that game.
'What I'm focusing on is my individual process and the process of the team. I'm not across, nor should I be, the commentary of those in the media talking about the conditions of the ground. I'm really focused on playing great footy and trying to help the Swans.'
The Swans have moved their main training session this week from the SCG to the nearby Tramway Oval, as requested by Venues NSW and the SCG Trust, to give the surface the best chance to recover.
Head curator Adam Lewis said on Monday that there was 'no chance' the Dockers match would be moved, and the early indications are that the AFL is happy with the turf rehab plans.
Lewis also said that Venues NSW had not received any critical feedback from Swans players, who typically train on the SCG at least once a week.
'We play on it ... well, not every week, but train on it pretty much most weeks, and we have been for the last six to eight weeks,' Grundy said.
'It's our home, so we're pretty used to it. Was it ideal on Friday night? No. But like I said, I'm looking forward to playing there this week. Hopefully [moving training], gives the ground an opportunity to freshen up. I know we're looking forward to a really solid contest against the Dockers this week.
'As a player, I've got full faith in the club and the SCG Trust, the AFL – I think they're working really collaboratively at the moment and throughout this week to make sure it's cherry ripe.'
In future, it is unlikely Venues NSW will seek to book major events or concerts at the SCG so close to the start of an AFL season, a source says.