Shock Posthumous Brain Diagnosis For Aussie Rules Great

Football great Graham “Polly” Farmer has become the first Aussie Rules player to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy -- a crippling neurological disorder caused by repeated head knocks.

According to the Herald Sun:

The diagnosis of Stage III CTE was confirmed after tissue from his brain was analysed at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital late last year.

Medical experts believe the devastating condition is caused by repeated head or subconcussive knocks over many years.

Farmer died last year after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, but a report released overnight in the online medical journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications confirmed his CTE diagnosis and sheds new light on the football legend’s suffering over two decades.

FIVEaa’s Stephen Rowe said on Thursday the diagnosis was “a turning point”.

“That is massive,” Rowey told David & Will on FIVEaa Breakfast. “He’s certainly in the top five players that have ever played… he changed the way the game’s played... played over 400 games when you put the WAFL and the VFL into it.

“He is revered. This is massive.

“Clearly his family and he signed off for him to be able to have his brain checked afterwards because you’ve got to nominate for that… this is a turning point, this is massive.”

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