Shane Tuck | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
  • IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.

Shane Tuck

My saying was “don’t put your head where you arse can go”
That's an old saying from the Doc. Only problem with that theory in modern footy is that when you turn your body to keep yourself safe, you take out the other *smile* who went in head first n you get rubbed out for a month.
 
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That's an old saying from the Doc. Only problem with that theory in modern footy is that when you turn your body to keep yourself safe, you take out the other *smile* who went in head first n you get rubbed out for a month.
To paraphrase the great line from the movie Spy Games “ if it’s between you and them, send flowers” take care of your own players first.
 
Griffinator wore a helmet n his last concussion was from a brain oscillation, his boof head didn't even hit anything.
Some players suffer no lingering after effects, some have a few niggles n issues n some like Tucky, Spud, Polly n Smith have massive problems.

Then why did he retire and then join a sport with a huge issue with head trauma?
 
Last year I wrote to the club suggesting that it sets up an ongoing tribute to Tucky, and offered to help.
Something for us supporters to get behind - maybe a member category, or tshirts.
Or a podcast series. Or an annual match.

With the aim to support young fellas with struggles and young families who have lost their dad. And to remember that Tucky gave his all.
 
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Current players receive plenty of information and support on the topic, but there’s hundreds of past players who don’t.

A lot of them would have symptoms to various degrees. If you listen to Richmond podcasts, you’ll be familiar with Richo ticking some of the boxes. The uncertainty of it would be frustrating in itself.

Not many doctors are up to date. Maybe the club could make yearly reviews of the literature with support of past players in mind?

Best thing to do for the brain is similar to the body. Diet and varied exercise.

Avoid “brain training” exercises, but anything that makes you think will help. You know what it feels like to actively figure something out, doesn’t matter what it is. Get in that zone for something each day like you‘d exercise for half an hour a day. And change it up like you’d change up your exercise, otherwise your body adapts too much to that specific task.

Symptoms can be managed. Do anything that keeps you feeling sharp, and change it up every 6-8 weeks. Similar to a 50yo or 60yo wanting to delay normal age-related cognitive decline.

Culturally, one barrier is people feeling embarrassed to “exercise their brain” because they feel they’re not good at it. They feel they should be able to perform better, so don’t end up doing it.

Same as a physically overweight guy not wanting to run the tan because of embarrassment. It helps to have people encouragement you to stay mentally engaged with various stuff that makes us think. Maybe SuperCoach or an NFL thing with friends, for example.

If you can’t run the tan, do a lap of an oval first with some friends. Then do some swimming. Bring a beach ball if it helps. Maybe not everyone will be running marathons in 10 years, but it’s possible to help each other get into a better place.
 
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Best thing to do for the brain is similar to the body. Diet and varied exercise.

Avoid “brain training” exercises,

Why do you say this? In conjunction with diet and exercise surely keeping the brain active would help?
 
Why do you say this? In conjunction with diet and exercise surely keeping the brain active would help?

By brain training, I just mean any marketed game or website that specifically claims to improve your brain's abilities. For example, the website luminosity. They're allowed to claim scientific validity, but it's highly misleading. Usually these type of websites will ask you to complete repetitive tasks on a regular basis, and then they'll provide you with a "score". This score will improve, but only for that specific task. It doesn't extend to anything wider. You'll think you're getting better with numbers, but outside their specific game, you're not.

To provide a fitness analogy... it's like wanting to train for a marathon, hiring a personal trainer, and the personal trainer gets you to do nothing but butt clenches for 8 weeks. They track your butt clench improvements to show you how much fitter you're becoming. You think you're in the shape of your life! You tell your friends how well you're going. They get into it too! You all sign up for the race. It's time to run...
...but the only thing you're really prepared for is to stand around clenching like Danger on Grand Final day.
Nobody wants that.

Coupled with the opportunity cost, I'm of the opinion this makes "brain training" activities a form of false hope and deception by omission. Practically anything else would be more helpful. But hey, some people like the butt clenches. Each to their own.
 
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Would be interested who encouraged Shane to go into boxing as that was probably the worse thing he could have done. From memory he had a bout where he was knocked out.
 
Would be interested who encouraged Shane to go into boxing as that was probably the worse thing he could have done. From memory he had a bout where he was knocked out.
Yeah and knocked out cold, was out before he hit the canvas. Anyone who thinks fighting is a good idea should watch that. Tucky could hold his hands up but against a professional boxer he was cannon fodder.
 
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Can anyone explain to me, in simple eras if possible, why this injury can only be detected post mortem and not with scans?
In Tucky's case the PM data reported huge amounts of tau protein (tau tangles).
The brain is full of protein and we can't measure changes in amounts of total protein, or distinguish normal from abnormal protein. I was wondering whether with huge amounts of tau, that some of it could have been detected early on in cerebrospinal fluid which can be biopsied. Whilst medicos argue against performing this invasive and somewhat risky procedure because the information does not help patient management (there is no treatment that can reverse this build up), it might have helped for Tucky to have an explanation for what he was intuitively sensing. (It is my experience that this is what patients crave...a sound explanation, secondary to a cure).

In Alzheimer's disease there is a build up of tau and amyloid proteins that eventually deposit as 'plaques'. These can be picked up by scan but if these are detected it is too late...the damage was started years earlier, and a plaque on a scan generally signals end-stage disease.
 
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I've always hated the idea of the courageous act. Taking one for the team etc. People booing those who pull out of a collision. You are no good to the team if you can't play.
Poison masculinity has cost many people their later lives.

We love Vlastuin and Grimes coz they go in hard.

houli and short were maligned coz they shirked a contest or 2.

Dimma praises players who put their head over the ball.

When it's your time to go, you go.

The harder team almost always wins. The way to beat them is to go harder and be braver. We all love to win.

Unfortunately head knocks comes with the game.
 
We love Vlastuin and Grimes coz they go in hard.

houli and short were maligned coz they shirked a contest or 2.

Dimma praises players who put their head over the ball.

When it's your time to go, you go.

The harder team almost always wins. The way to beat them is to go harder and be braver. We all love to win.

Unfortunately head knocks comes with the game.
You live a long time after football.
 
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Can anyone explain to me, in simple eras if possible, why this injury can only be detected post mortem and not with scans?

They shoot baby laser beams into the head. They’re like Shai Bolton in traffic - they pass through everything.

Until they hit blood.

Then they get pinged and the baby laser beams bounce back in the other direction. You record each one that bounces back to paint a picture. That’s how you do a brain scan.

But we only want to know how much pressure the opposition ruckman is applying.

Shai never gets pinged by lumbering rucks.

But if you send in Shaun Hampson, you won’t just get pinged by the rucks, you’ll get pinged by every random player on the ground.

So you just have to watch the replay.
 
I don't know if helmets make a difference, but if there was a % difference, you have to question why they aren't compulsory. Particularly in junior footy.
Hey TF... from the little I know on helmets at jnr level is that they were counter productive.... gave kids a false sense of extra security, thus they actually went in harder causing more issues. I’m sure there is a study on it somewhere if I could be bothered looking
 
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Hey TF... from the little I know on helmets at jnr level is that they were counter productive.... gave kids a false sense of extra security, thus they actually went in harder causing more issues. I’m sure there is a study on it somewhere if I could be bothered looking

There is some evidence mandatory bicycle helmets has led to more risky behaviour.

In any case (bear in mind I am a cyclist and have read a bit on this) the evidence on bicycle helmets is that they protect against cuts, abrasions etc if you come off but there is no evidence they do anything to protect against concussion. Also, the injury stats show that head injuries as a proportion of all injuries for cyclists have not changed.

The relevance here is that bike helmets were made compulsory quite a few years ago so there is a period of data and it really does not support helmets as any sort of solution to concussion.

DS
 
Shane Tuck’s widow wants Richmond’s ‘poor’ treatment of husband investigated (paywalled)

The widow of Richmond star Shane Tuck has been told a probe into her husband’s suicide wouldn’t be a “blame process” over how the club treated his repeated head knocks.

Katherine Tuck has asked the State Coroner to investigate specific examples of how her husband was “so poorly and badly” treated by Richmond Football Club doctors, telling a court he was allowed to continue playing after concussion during his nine-year career.

Very sad that it's developed this way.

Full article on the Journo's board for those interested.
 
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