Eight former AFL players have joined a landmark class action against the league and 10 clubs, claiming they were negligently exposed to concussion-related injuries.
The footballers follow ex-Geelong player Max Rooke who has been leading the case against the AFL and his former club since 2023.
North Melbourne premiership player Ian Fairley is among the eight players listed as lead plaintiffs in the new writ filed in the Victorian Supreme Court.
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Other plaintiffs include former Carlton vice captain Nick Stevens and 302-gamer Michael Richardson, who played for Collingwood and Essendon.
St Kilda, Melbourne, Richmond, Collingwood, Essendon, North Melbourne, Footscray, Carlton, Fremantle and Port Adelaide have each been listed as defendants in the new writ, alongside the AFL.
The court documents allege the former players suffered permanent and life-altering injuries as a result of concussions sustained during their time in the league.
The plaintiffs claim the clubs and the AFL failed to take reasonable care to prevent exposing the players to risk of permanent concussion-related injuries.
They are seeking damages for the losses they claim to have suffered as a result of the AFL and clubs’ negligence.
Michel Margalit, managing principal of Margalit Injury Lawyers, said the players who have signed on to be lead plaintiffs were providing a “brave show of support” to Rooke.
More than 100 former players have come forward to join the broader class action and there were further investigations into the remaining AFL clubs that were yet to be named in the lawsuit, Ms Margalit said.
“The medical evidence is tragically clear,” she said in a statement.
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“The players’ concussion occurred while playing Aussie Rules and those concussions have gone on to cause them serious, lifelong physical and psychological harm.
“Years later, their footy career is a distant memory and they find themselves injured and without the means to care for those injuries.
“It’s heart-breaking and they need to be adequately cared for.”
The AFL has been approached for comment.
At a Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday, it was confirmed the AFL and Geelong were continuing to fight the allegations in the Rooke-led class action.
The parties were still in the early phases of document disclosure but Justice Andrew Keogh flagged the court could accommodate a trial starting in late May 2027.
Trial dates are expected to be confirmed in April, with the case due to return to court for a case management hearing next week.
