Inquiry into ex-Richmond player’s death to begin

Emily Woods | July 19, 2023

A long-awaited inquest into the death of former AFL player Shane Tuck, who was found to have a brain condition following repeated head knocks, is set to begin in Melbourne.

Tuck played 173 games for Richmond and later turned to professional boxing.

He died in 2020 aged 38 after suffering from deteriorating mental health.

Victoria’s State Coroner John Cain will investigate the link between Tuck’s concussions from repeated head knocks and his brain injury, known as CTE, as well as guidelines in the AFL and boxing to protect players’ heads.

The inquest is due to begin at Melbourne’s Coroners Court on Wednesday afternoon, with an opening summary to be read aloud to the court.

The hearing is then set to resume for four hours until midnight to hear evidence from international concussion expert Dr Robert Cantu, who is appearing remotely from overseas.

It will return to the court next week for three additional hearings, from Wednesday to Friday.

Tuck’s family are separately involved in a concussion class again against the AFL and several football clubs, filed in Victoria’s Supreme Court by South Australian-based Griffins Lawyers.

Former Melbourne player Shaun Smith and Adelaide Crows premiership player Darren Jarman are also named in the class action.

A second class action has been filed by Melbourne-based Margalit Injury Lawyers, on behalf of ex-Geelong player Max Rooke and more than 100 other former players.

Additionally, former players Ty Zantuck, Liam Picken and Gary Ablett Sr have all filed individual lawsuits over their concussion injuries.

Last month, Justice John Dixon asked lawyers to explore merging their claims as they will overlap and explore similar issues.

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