Melbourne has been handed a reprimand by the AFL over its handling of Eden Zanker’s concussion
Eden Zanker during Melbourne’s win over Western Bulldogs in R1, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
MELBOURNE has been reprimanded by the AFL over its handling of Eden Zanker’s concussion during last week’s qualifying final against Brisbane.
The Demons were issued with a ‘please explain’ by the League after Zanker passed a head injury assessment after a head knock during the qualifying final, returning to the field before being pulled back off and entering concussion protocols.
The AFL confirmed on Saturday morning it had handed down the sanction, just hours before the Demons’ must-win semi-final against Adelaide.
Melbourne has confirmed the same club doctors from the qualifying final will be on duty during Saturday’s match.
The League has committed to providing further training to Melbourne’s doctors ahead of the semi-final.
“The health and safety of our players is of paramount importance, and it is vital that there is strict adherence to the concussion guidelines to ensure that a player that suffers a head knock is appropriately managed,” the AFL said in a statement.
“The AFL will consider learnings from this process and breach in the upcoming annual review of the AFL & AFLW Concussion Guidelines.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, Melbourne coach Mick Stinear explained how the in-game incident unfolded.
“The AFL and our doctors are working really closely together, I think it’s probably little things on game day that we’re able to review and tighten up,” Stinear said.
“But ultimately (Eden) had passed the SCAT, but there were some signs on the vision that perhaps she needed to be ruled out. And I think that was picked up really quickly by the AFL, and our doctors.
“Ultimately, from our point-of-view we’re really happy with our medical team and how they handled it, and I thought both our medical team and the AFL worked really collaboratively during the game. And the number one thing is [Eden] is okay.”
Zanker is currently in concussion protocols and will not play in the semi-final.
Melbourne is expected to comment further after Saturday’s match.
