Thirty-three Australian Rules players diagnosed with CTE

Thirty-three Australian Rules footballers, including 19 professionals and semi-professionals, have been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, according to data compiled by the Australian Sports Brain Bank. The findings include players who died in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

Until these results, only five professional AFL players were known to have had the disease. CTE can be confirmed only after death and has been linked to repeated head impacts. Symptoms observed during life include depression, memory loss, rage, poor impulse control and suicidal thoughts.

Research findings Associate Professor Michael Buckland of the Australian Sports Brain Bank said the diagnoses in younger players who competed only at amateur levels were particularly concerning. "It tells all of us that there's a problem that playing a lot of contact or collision sport leads you to have a high risk of CTE later in life," he said.

Professor Alan Pearce noted that 19 of the Australian Rules brain donors died by suicide; 15 of those donors had CTE.

League response The AFL has not yet formed a formal partnership with a brain bank, a step recommended by two Victorian coroners after the suicides of Danny Frawley and Shane Tuck, both later found to have CTE. AFL executive Laura Kane said a long-term study that includes brain donation is under consideration as part of the league's Brain Health Initiative.

The league plans to limit physical contact in training sessions beginning with the 2027 pre-season, following a coroner's recommendation after Shane Tuck's death.

Player accounts Former Western Bulldogs player Matty Robbins, who played 146 AFL games, said he has experienced memory loss since age 42 and believes he has CTE. "No-one walks away unscathed," he said. Lawyer Michel Margalit, who represents more than 100 players in a class action against the AFL, said most players were not advised of the long-term risks of concussion and permanent brain injury.