Carlton expects the AFL to formally tick off on its handling of Harry McKay’s head knock against North Melbourne on Sunday after responding to the league’s “please explain” letter. Blues coach Michael Voss said the AFL was “comfortable” with how McKay was treated after he remained on the field for several minutes after he appeared visibly dazed following a head clash with the Kangaroos’ Eddie Ford. McKay kicked a goal during the interval before he left the field to undergo a concussion test but was cleared to return to the game and has been declared a certain starter against Port Adelaide on Friday night.
Although McKay will be fit to face the Power, the Blues will lose wingman Blake Acres and injured ruckman Tom De Koning. Scans cleared Acres of any structural damage after he was subbed out of the Roos clash with a foot injury, but Voss said he would not be risked off a five-day break. Carlton, Adelaide and Brisbane were issued notices by the AFL to explain their management of head knocks to players on the weekend, but the Blues coach was confident his club had no case to answer.
He said he would support a push from the AFL Doctors’ Association to stop play after head knocks and make it mandatory for players to be assessed off the field. “We have (responded to the AFL), we’ve certainly been asked to put a series of events together in the way that we saw it,” Voss said on Thursday. “We’ve been able to do that, and (the AFL is) comfortable with where .