Source : ABC NEWS
Eight more footballers have joined a multimillion-dollar concussion class action against the AFL, tipping the total to over 100 former players who all claim they have been left brain-damaged by the game.
Margalit Injury Lawyers have lodged a new writ in the Supreme Court of Victoria naming the AFL and now 10 additional clubs as defendants in the landmark court case.
In the new writ Carlton, Fremantle, Port Adelaide, St Kilda, Melbourne, Richmond, Collingwood, Essendon, North Melbourne and Footscray have been listed as defendants, alongside the AFL.
It has been three years since Margalit launched the class action.
Last year the AFL and Geelong Football Club attempted to have the case “declassed” or broken apart, meaning individual players would have needed to bring their own separate cases.
That bid was rejected, and trial dates are now expected to be confirmed next month.
Earlier this week Justice Andrew Keogh suggested May 31, 2027, as a trial date.
The lead plaintiff in the case is the dual premiership Cats defender Max Rooke who played 135 games for Geelong.
Rooke claims he sustained life-altering injuries due to concussion and head strikes.
The writ states Rooke was concussed between 20 and 30 times during his playing career and training, and was knocked unconscious on at least two occasions.
A new writ lodged on Wednesday included new plaintiffs including North Melbourne premiership player Ian Fairley, former Carlton vice-captain Nick Stevens, and Michael Richardson who played 302 games across Collingwood and Essendon.
Former Carlton vice-captain Nick Stevens is among the latest former players to join the class action. (Getty Images: Hamish Blair)
Lawyer Michel Margalit said the former footballers she was representing were suffering various neurological impairments including suspected chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) — which is linked to repetitive hits and can only be diagnosed post-mortem — traumatic brain injury (TBI) and dementia.
Ms Margalit said some were suffering “devastating” psychological consequences such as depression and suicidal ideation.
“The players’ concussion occurred while playing Aussie Rules and those concussions have gone on to cause them serious, lifelong physical and psychological harm and it has had a devastating impact on their lives and the lives of their loved ones” Ms Margalit said in a statement.
“They dedicated their lives to the game. Years later, their footy career is a distant memory, and they find themselves injured and without the means to care for those injuries.
“It’s heart-breaking and they need to be adequately cared for.”
Michel Margalit is calling on AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon to negotiate a settlement with the former players. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca, file photo)
The former players are seeking damages for pain and suffering, economic loss and medical expenses, as well as interest and legal costs.
“Financial compensation can never fix the damage that concussion has caused, but it will be an important step forward in recognition of the damage caused to them,” Ms Margalit said.
“I invite AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon to sit down and discuss a fair financial outcome for these former players that have given so much to the game, rather than prolonging their pain and suffering any further.”
The AFL declined to comment because the matter was before the courts.
CTE has been found post-mortem in the brains of footballers including St Kilda great Danny Frawley and Richmond’s Shane Tuck. Both died by suicide.
Earlier this year it was reported that former AFL footballer Troy Selwood, who also died by suicide, had written in his will that he wanted to donate his brain to science to explore the impact of concussion.
He played 75 games for the Brisbane Lions.
Selwood stated in his will in November 2021, four years before he died, that it was his “wish to donate my brain for research for concussion in sport if possible”.
The class action covers the period from January 1985 to March 14, 2023.
It was initially brought on by just over 60 former players who alleged long-term injury from concussions.
The AFL reported an underlying operating surplus of $67.9 million in 2025.
A similar class action in the US brought by former NFL players resulted in an initial payout of more than $US1 billion ($1.44 billion).
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