By Beth Newman
Sydney Swans forward Kurt Tippett says players should be honest about lasting head knock effects.
Gold Coaster Tippett, who missed almost a month of football when he suffered three concussions in five weeks while playing for the Adelaide Crows in 2012, said the important thing was to be frank.
Kurt Tippett presents Dirk Koenen with the 2015 Troy Clarke Scholarship.Credit: Picasa
Almost three years on, Tippett said he was free of any ongoing symptoms.
"It was a tough period to go through at the time," he said.
"I'd encourage anyone who has a head knock to get the best advice and to be really clear about how they're feeling and what they should be going through before they come back and play."
Since Tippett's string of knocks, the treatment of which was seen as a test case for the AFL's concussion policy, head injuries have come into focus in all football codes, following the example of American sports administrations such as NFL.
"You hear the stuff about the NFL that raised awareness and there's been more and more discussion about it here in Australia as well," he said.
"So that's a positive thing because your health is the most important thing and you don't want to end up in a bad way for after football because there's a lot of life to be lived after football."
Sydney will bring a slightly weakened back line to their clash with the Lions on Sunday, after fullback Ted Richards failed to overcome concussion symptoms.
Richards was stretchered off after being concussed a tackle from Port Adelaide forward Jay Schulz in their Round 14 match a week and a half ago.
Tippett didn't weigh into the debate over the legality of the tackle nor whether Schulz deserved a suspension but said Richards' health should be the top concern.
"It's an interesting one," he said.
"We'll be without Teddy, which is disappointing, but he hasn't recovered from the head knock and his health is most important so we look forward to getting him back whenever he's right to go."
Sunday's clash between the Swans and Brisbane will be the first for Tippett and forward partner Lance Franklin as Swans, and Franklin's first trip to the Gabba since 2008.
The last time Tippett played at the Gabba was Round 21 in 2012, in his return from those concussions, and kept goalless by the Lions in the Crows' 10-point loss.
Tippett was in Brisbane on Saturday presenting the Troy Clarke Scholarship to Magnetic Island's Dirk Koenen.
The scholarship, for which Tippett is an ambassador, was named in honour of the late Clarke, a former Brisbane Bears player and former AFL Queensland state development manager, who helped encourage Tippett switch from basketball to AFL.
The annual scholarship is given to a regional footballer to help progress their football career.