A north-east Victorian Country football league will postpone its final series after a player was left fighting for his life after an on-field bump at the weekend.
Key points:
- Ben Duffield has come out of an induced coma
- The Greta football player received CPR for 35 minutes following a bump during the reserve’s final
- The Ovens and King League have made changes to the final series following the incident
Ben Duffield was involved in a clash with another player while contesting the ball during a reserves final between Greta and Milawa.
It left him with a broken sternum, a damaged lung, and internal bleeding, which led to cardiac issues.
“It was a front-on sort of collision between two players,” Greta Football and Netball Club president Gary Hogan said.
“It was not certainly anything outside of what would normally happen on a football field with a collision.
“It was like he was winded. He came off the ground and thought in a minute or so he’d be right.”
Mr Duffield began feeling worse and was being taken for further assessment before he collapsed in the club rooms.
The club’s trainer, two nurses, and an off-duty paramedic, who was a spectator at the game, performed CPR on Mr Duffield for around 35 minutes.
A defibrillator installed at the ground in Wangaratta was also used on Mr Duffield before an air ambulance arrived and took him to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The senior final between Greta and Bonnie Doon was called off just before half-time as a result.
Out of coma
Mr Hogan said there were initial concerns about permanent damage given how long Mr Duffield required CPR.
But he said things were now looking promising for the father of two, who came out of an induced coma yesterday.
“He was awake, he was sitting up and talking, but still heavily sedated,” Mr Hogan said.
“He has memory of the game. He remembers getting the knock and remembers coming off the ground so that’s quite positive.”
The club has praised those who stepped in to help that day and for acting so quickly.
“We were so fortunate to have those people there because if they weren’t there the outcome may have been very different,” Mr Hogan said.
“For what went wrong on the day a lot of things went right.”
Changes to final
The Ovens and King Football Netball League has announced changes to its final series following the incident.
“The board appreciates the efforts of those catering clubs affected, the negotiation of quick liquor licence changes and all involved that will be impacted by this,” board chair Peter Byrne said.
“The league acted as quickly and as responsibly as it could to ensure the welfare of patient at the time and the player welfare, both mentally and physically, of those playing was paramount in the decision.”
The game between Greta and Bonnie Doon that was called off will be replayed on September 3.
The preliminary final for all qualifying teams will be played on September 10 and the grand final will be on September 17.
A fundraising blanket will be walked around the ground on grand final day to help with fundraising efforts to support Mr Duffield and his family.
A GoFundMe page has also been created by a friend, which has raised more than $30,000.
“We’re just blown away by the support. We’re just a farming community,” Mr Hogan said.
“At Greta, there’s no town. There’s no pub, there’s no shop, there’s no post office, there’s just the football club. That’s our community.”
Clubs in the Ovens and King League as well as from other leagues around the north east are also showing their support.
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