Shaun Hart in action for the Brisbane Lions in 2004, the final year of his career. Source: News Limited
BRISBANE premiership hero Shaun Hart has spoken out about his level of concern after suffering multiple headknocks in a decorated career and how it may affect his long-term health.
Hart and wife Linda have been taken aback after hearing the effects of concussions suffered by Carlton champion Greg Williams, who suffers from memory loss, and former NRL star Ian Roberts, who has spoken of brain damage resulting from being knocked out as many as a dozen times in his sport.
HART: POWER IS MORE THAN A FOOTBALL TEAM
Few players copped as many whacks as the courageous little Hart, the 2001 Norm Smith Medallist who now works as the coaching director at Port Adelaide.
One of the worst was when he crashed into teammate Daniel Bradshaw in the preliminary final of 2004, when he ran into Bradshaw's hip and thigh and suffered what doctors described as car-accident type injuries.
It was his last game for Brisbane: in hospital the doctor joked about his helmet holding his head together.
"It was an enormous injury and it ended my career,'' Hart recalled.
Shaun Hart in his new role as Port Adelaide director of coaching. Picture: Simon Cross.
"But I had a lot of little head knocks and my visual acuity decreased as a result. That's why I put it on (the helmet).''
Reports coming out of the US, where NFL players have spoken about how constant knocks to their heads have affected them, along with the fate of Williams and Roberts have concerned Hart.
He is a devout Christian who is strong in his faith, but Hart admits he has some fears over what the future might hold.
"We were watching that (the report about Roberts) the other night, my wife and I, and my wife is really concerned about it,'' Hart said.
"She thinks that it's an enormous issue and there's a chance that guys like myself don't know what the future holds, in terms of when it will onset.
"It is a worrying concern but I think the AFL is doing everything they can.
Coach Ken Hinkley reflects on Port Adelaide's derby win over Adelaide Crows.
"At the risk of criticism they're doing everything they can to make sure that players' health come first and foremost.
"I really like that about the game.''
But as much as the new standards are helping a new generation, Hart, who wore a helmet throughout his junior years, knows he may suffer the consequences from being knocked around later.
HART: KIDS SHOULD WEAR HELMETS PLAYING FOOTY
It is why he thinks football authorities should at least consider mandatory use of helmets for junior players.
"You know that you've had a lot of little headknocks, and then you have the big head knocks like the one with Daniel Bradshaw,'' Hart said.
"What does that do to your brain? I don't know. I don't know when that can affect you and if it will.
"But the reality is that it affects certain people and it could always affect yourself and other people you played with.
"When you see it on the news you go, 'Who are the other people who are experiencing something similar?' You don't know.''
Hart admits to concussion concerns
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Hart admits to concussion concerns
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