‘Vague and embarrassing’: Cats’ doctors hit back at Rooke class action concussion claim

July 15, 2026 — 3:30pm

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Two former Geelong Football Club doctors have taken aim at player Max Rooke, describing his statement of claim as part of a multimillion-dollar concussion case against the AFL as vague and embarrassing.

Rooke, the former Cats premiership defender and cult hero, is the lead plaintiff in a class action brought by Margalit Injury Lawyers and set to be heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria from May next year.

He and a raft of players have alleged their lives were impacted by serious head knocks. It is alleged the players have suffered permanent, life-altering injuries as a result of concussions, and due to the negligence of the AFL and the clubs.

Rooke’s second amended statement of claim lodged in the Supreme Court of Victoria lists 23 games across 2002 to 2009 where he allegedly had a major head knock, was concussed and/or “suffered from loss of consciousness”.

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Former Geelong doctors Chris Bradshaw, who spent more than a decade at the club, and Geoff Allen, who spent 15 years with the Cats, also as a trainer, are two of the listed third parties mentioned in Rooke’s statement of claim.

Rooke’s claim has listed what his legal team says were “reasonable precautions” the Cats and AFL should have adhered to in “the concussion management risk of harm”.

This includes “having a rigorous system for the identification of symptoms of concussion by way of monitoring, or requiring responsible delegates to monitor, matches and training for symptoms of concussion; withdrawing players where symptoms of concussion were suspected or identified, and having a mandatory period of no training or playing in matches of a minimum of 12 days.”

In response, Bradshaw and Allen filed their own defence in April, and dissected in detail the incidents listed by the 135-game Cat.

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They claim Rooke, 44, has failed to “properly” identify a range of issues, including what steps or measures that the AFL and/or the Cats should have taken to monitor the alleged risks, what steps or measures that the AFL and/or Geelong should have taken to assess the alleged risks, and the studying and monitoring of the effect of the alleged head knocks and concussions.

Bradshaw and Allen claim Rooke also did not identify what advice, warnings and education players should have received, adding that the allegations as to “reasonable precautions … are vague and embarrassing”.

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Their legal team from Moray & Agnew Lawyers later state: “Otherwise, they deny the allegations”.

The AFL did not introduce the mandatory 12-day concussion protocol until 2021.

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In a statement provided to this masthead, a spokesperson for Bradshaw and Allen said: “Allen and Bradshaw cared deeply about the players, and players cared deeply about them, including Max Rooke. They believed they always did their best to look after their players. Now they are accused of not caring for their players by failing to take ‘reasonable precautions’ around concussion management and dealing with concussion issues.

“Naturally, they want to understand how they allegedly failed to provide reasonable precautions to their players. They want to know exactly what steps, measures, systems, and advice they did not provide, or should have provided, to the players at that time. Hence, the reference to the allegations, in their defence, to ‘reasonable precautions’ as ‘vague and embarrassing’.”

Rooke’s statement of claim insists he “was not advised, warned and educated, adequately or at all, by the AFL or, through it or at all, by the Geelong Football Club, on the risks of head knocks, signs and symptoms of concussions and the concussion management risk of harm”.

The Cats, meanwhile, have implicated the 12 doctors who worked at the club between 1985 and 2023, into the class action, seeking compensation from them if they are ordered to pay damages to Rooke and other players

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In the third-party notice, the Cats say they will level allegations against the 12 doctors for “loss and damage” if Rooke was to win.

When contacted about the defence lodged by Bradshaw and Allen, Michel Margalit, the managing principal of Margalit Injury Lawyers, said: “It was Geelong Football Club who brought a claim against their former doctors, Bradshaw and Allen.

“We stand by the claims Max Rooke makes against the AFL and Geelong Football Club on behalf of injured footballers and remain committed to fighting for the compensation they deserve.”

The AFL declined to comment when contacted about Allen and Bradshaw’s defence.

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More:

AFL injury ward

AFL 2026

Concussion crisis

Geelong Cats

Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.

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