Nathan Fitzgerald, a back pocket player for the Epping reserves, was eagerly anticipating the second week of his school holidays. His day began with watching the Socceroos alongside his father and younger brother. Later, he planned to tune in to the Richmond versus Carlton match on Saturday night. Recently, he had also proposed to his longtime girlfriend.
While the Northern Football Netball League has seen substantial investments and high-profile signings over the years, the same cannot be said for the third division and reserves. Most players from Epping reside and work locally, having developed their skills at the club during their junior years. Mernda Central College, where Fitzgerald teaches maths and science, serves nearly 1,800 students from prep to year 12. Several of these students were present at Lalor Recreation Reserve to see their teacher in action. They observed the umpires checking the field and watched as the away team built a nine-goal lead. They witnessed the initial head clash, followed by Fitzgerald’s head colliding with another player’s leg before crashing into the “multilayered synthetic surface” that covers a concrete cricket pitch.
The concerns surrounding this concrete pitch have been significant. Neurophysiologist Professor Alan Pearce remarked, “common sense would tell you that this was an accident waiting to happen. There is no give in a concrete structure, so there is no absorption for the brain.” Peter Jess, a former player-manager who is now a safety advocate, has labeled the AFL as “It wasn’t the game’s fault,” and urged the league to implement annual safety inspections for all grounds across different levels of the sport. Jess believes it is unacceptable for lower-tier football to adhere to different safety standards than the elite levels. This is a league that still struggles to determine what constitutes a goal, so expecting them to enforce universal safety measures across thousands of ovals for junior, men’s, women’s, and senior games each week seems unrealistic.
Similar conversations about risk and accountability arose after the tragic passing of 17-year-old Ben Austin, who died last October after being struck in the head during cricket practice in Melbourne. Cricket, like football, carries its own inherent risks. Players are often at the mercy of various factors such as the toss, weather conditions, playing surface, equipment, bowler, and the ball itself. Every cricketer faces comparable dangers, whether they are up against Mitchell Starc at Lord’s or practicing in a suburban net. Ben’s father, donning his son’s club cap, addressed the situation a few days later, stating, “It wasn’t the game’s fault.”
Footballers encounter distinct risks compared to cricketers, especially when comparing reserves players in the suburbs to professionals in the AFL. League footballers benefit from well-maintained pitches, a team of four umpires, and robust player union support. However, as player sizes increase, the game accelerates, and hits become more intense, obtaining insurance becomes increasingly difficult.
The dangers present in local football vary widely based on the quality of play and umpiring, the condition and availability of playing fields, and the access to medical assistance. These risks are amplified at clubs operating on limited budgets, particularly in areas where population growth is rapid and oval space is limited. Local players often express that a concrete pitch is not unusually hazardous, viewing it as comparable to uneven surfaces, fields that double as dog parks, turf wickets that have hardened over time, or boundary fences that are too close. Many who engage in contact sports have their own stories of accidents, near misses, and moments where players seem vulnerable. Two years ago, Michael Pisker, a player in Melbourne’s premier amateur division, suffered catastrophic injuries after being kneed in the eye socket, leading to a two-week coma and the loss of an eye.
In dire situations like these, it is instinctive to assign blame—whether it be to the tackler, the AFL, local councils, or even the sport itself. However, it is more challenging to confront the intrinsic risks that come with participating in such a sport, a reality that every adult involved acknowledges. This is what sets Nathan’s tragic death apart from the heartbreaking cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The unfortunate reality of CTE is that players and their families were often unaware of the associated risks, having not received the necessary education regarding the dangers. The governing body heeded the advice of the wrong individuals.
Nathan Fitzgerald’s passing serves as a stark reminder—amidst a sport marketed as an exhilarating spectacle, measured by audience numbers and ticket sales, managed like a mid-level law firm, and analyzed as a puzzle to be solved—that it remains a fundamentally perilous sport. It highlights the existence of a vast football community beyond the AFL, a community that shares the same fervor but faces different yet equally serious dangers compared to professional players. Each week, close to 700,000 Australians participate in football for their clubs and schools. Tragically, one of them did not return home last weekend.
- This is an extract from Guardian Australia’s free weekly AFL email, From the Pocket. To access the complete version, please visit this page and follow the instructions.
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