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Well, obviously it's every kid's dream to become an AFL player. And that's a much needed goal for O'Driscoll and for WA. Aiden O'Driscoll was competing for a spot in the 2023 AFL draft. Aiden O'Driscoll is clearly the best athlete in the pool. The Western Bulldogs have selected Aiden O'Drriscoll from Perth. I was like, "This is actually real now. I'm an AFL player. This is who I am."
Aiden was drafted at 18 years of age, but the dream didn't last. Months into his new AFL career, Aiden suffered a life-changing hit in a practice match. First quarter, I kicked a goal, was feeling good. Um, and then second quarter got the hit, got the knock right behind the ear. It actually left a fracture behind my ear as well. I had a seizure and yeah, woke up in the ambulance. In April 2024, almost 3 months after the injury, Aiden fronted an AFL medical panel tasked with assessing whether he was safe to return to play games.
The report said Aiden has more micro hemorrhages than the panel has seen in other athletes with concussion. The panel recommends that Aiden should not return to contact sport in the future. And I was like, this is it. Like I'm done. Like what did I do to deserve this? Like why is life being so cruel to me? Is it something you're still wrestling with today? Yeah. That's caused me a lot of grief for sure. Surrounded by his Bulldogs family, Aiden said goodbye. I've worked so hard my whole life and to have my dream shattered in the blink of an eye.
I couldn't get up some mornings. I felt that horrible and I just felt not myself. Like I get pain in the back of my head most days and the dizziness. Good finish. Aiden received a footballending injury payment of over $150,000, but like many brain injured footballers is exploring compensation options for future losses. Peter, how you going? Aiden, nice to meet you, man. Grab a seat. And player advocate Peter Jess is helping him do it. Let's have a look at the stuff.
There's two key avenues for AFL players to get compensation for loss of future earnings due to injury. Players have had the option to claim for head trauma related injury through the AFL players association super fund AM which offers insurance through Zurich Australia. And in May last year, the AFL players association also created a new severe injury benefit fund capped at $600,000 per player. Aiden's claim for that severe injury benefit fund payout has been knocked back due to his failure to demonstrate a permanent impairment of cognitive function and reduced working capacity.
The basis of them rejecting the SIB. Yeah. Is farical. Aiden had new brain scans done earlier this year. Neurosurgeon Dr. Richard Parkinson reviewed them. It looks like there's a probably a fracture there. And there's these little hemorrhages inside the brain in the area of the brain here called the temporal lobe here, here, here, here, and here. And there's probably one here and possibly one there as well, indicating a significant head injury. Dr. Parkinson says Aiden's brain injury could be permanent. You might see impairment in memory, um higher functioning or reasoning. Um occasionally you should you can see
difficulties with vision and quite often you can get severe headaches which can be quite bad on their own. Peter Jess is helping Aiden to appeal the players association decision to knock back his claim for the severe injury benefit fund. The AFL goes into big tobacco mode. Deny, defend, and delay. The Players Association didn't respond to questions regarding Aiden's case, saying it is a private matter. But in a statement, the players association said footballers health, safety, and well-being continues to be their highest priority. The AFL declined an interview and didn't respond to questions. The other common avenue of compensation has been insurance.
Adriana Oriscov made a name for herself lodging total and permanent disability claims through players super funds. What I've seen is sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sound, mood swings. I've had a few players where they've had a lot of concussions randomly blackout. Adriana Oroskov helped former West Coast Eagles rookie Patrick Bind secure a $500,000 payout. Bine suffered a head and neck injury during a game in mid 2019. I woke up the next day just completely couldn't move in bed. Like Aiden, Patrick was at the start of his career. I had two collapsed discs which ended up in a spinal fusion and also uh I've had about yeah 29 procedures since then um all through the
years. My most recent one a couple months ago probably the last four or five years I've really sort of spent it in my room. I haven't done too much. Unable to work Patrick Bind successfully won a payout from his super fund. When that came through, it was just, you know, it was life-changing to me because I was able to actually get that treatment and get, you know, the support and help that I needed. Aiden still has a shot at getting compensation through his super fund AM. But for future players, it's a different story. As of last week, AFL players are no longer able to claim for head trauma through their super fund. AM was
providing coverage through insurance firm Zurich, but on May 1st, Zurich stopped coverage for head injuries, and AM says not a single insurer was willing to fill the gap. An AM spokesperson said, "Our thoughts are with the players and families affected by these injuries. Unfortunately, no insurer was able to provide cover for these injuries. The players are angry, confused. Um they feel vulnerable because they are now fearful to go out and play. Last week, more than 6 years since his injury, Patrick Bines was awarded a players association payout through the severe injury benefit fund. With a new
gap in coverage in players superanuation insurance, he says the AFL could do more. I think it's a massive issue and I think, you know, the players association and the AFL really need it, really need to figure this out. You know, no player knows when they're going to get injured. That's the thing. And no player thinks they're going to be impacted for life. Zurich's decision came amid an escalating AFL head trauma crisis. There's around 100 footballers currently suing the AFL in a class action. When we talk about the game, the game is the players. If you have um this body of young men who put their lives at risk,
the AFL must have a system that protects them. What I'm fighting for is justice. And simply at this moment, the AFL presents as one of the worst employers that I've seen. I feel like the AFL need to step in. I feel like they need to help us pass players out a lot more than they have been.
