Danny Chatfield knows that hindsight is a wonderful thing.
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Had he known five concussions in a row would culminate in a horrific head clash and a fractured skull in a game in May, he would have sat out after taking the first knock in a practice match.
"I do sit around and think if I had listened to my body and put myself before the side, I would probably be still running around the park," Chatfield said.
But he's also painfully aware of how lucky he was to have suffered no significant long-term affects from the injury.
So much so, that the 35-year-old is erring on the side of caution when it comes to his recovery.
His passion for golf has been put on hiatus, as his doctors have advised him it could take up to 18 months for him to make a full recovery.
"As much as I'd like to be out playing, I haven't been out on the course," Chatfield said.
"A couple of people have said 'come and have a hit of golf' but I think 'that could be the game that will end my life.
"You would have to be really unlucky to get hit by a stray ball but I've got to think about the kids."
Chatfield said he would return to the golf course at some point because he was "sick of looking at my golf clubs".
He said he had come to terms with the fact his playing career was over.
"I've accepted it," he said.
"One more hit could have ended my life."
Chatfield said he was keen to warn others of the consequences of not taking time off after a knock to the head.
In particular, he wants to ensure playing coaches are not allowed to make a decision about whether they should play on after suffering an injury.
"My biggest thing was the duty of care to myself as a coach," Chatfield said.
"If it had been one of my players I would have told them to go and see a doctor."
Hampden Football Netball League Hall of Fame member Kevin Leske, who played 309 games for Port Fairy, said he was glad attitudes to concussions in football had changed.
The 76-year-old said there was a "try and play on no matter what" attitude when he was playing.
Leske recalled he was less than happy with his wife Beverley when she took matters into her own hands after he suffered a concussion in a match.
"Unbeknownst to me my wife rang the doctor and he must have got in touch with the club," he said.
Leske was told he would have to watch from the sidelines that day.
"I was terribly disappointed," he said.
"I would have played."
Leske said he believed he only had two concussions in his career.
He said he was knocked off and got taken off.
"I didn't go back on because you couldn't in those days - once you were off, you were off," Leske said.
He said he did not believed he suffered from any long-term affects from his concussions.
However, he is pleased attitudes towards knocks to the head in the game have changed.
"I think it's a good thing," Leske said.
The two south-west footballers have spoken about their views on concussions in the game after two legends of the game appeared on an episode of SBS's Insight to discuss the issue.
Essendon and Geelong great John Barnes said playing on after taking a knock to the head was viewed as a "badge of honour" when he played.
"You were a bit of a softie or a bit of a sook if you didn't," Barnes said
He said he believed he had suffered a concussion at least a dozen times, but had taken plenty of additional knocks to the head.
The 50-year-old said he was now suffering the consequences.
He described his life now as "ordinary".
"I've done a 360," he said.
"My wife's like my babysitter."
Barnes has been diagnosed with epilepsy and suffers from fits.
His wife or children have to monitor him when he is showering or taking a bath.
Barnes said his long-term memory was generally pretty good, but his short-term memory was "horrendous".
"I'm putting milk in the cupboard and the corn flakes in the fridge and I go to the supermarket and stand in the aisle and I'm staring at something and I don't even know what I want," he said.
"Or I'll go to the supermarket and forget my wallet."
Barnes' wife Rowena said she had noticed a change in her husband's demeanour.
"He has anxiety, depression and mood swings," she said.
"Before he was very social, very easy going - he's not that person anymore."
Mrs Barnes said she remembered witnessing some of his knocks to the head.
"There was one time he was stretchered off and I thought that would be the end of it but 10 to 15 minutes later he was back on the ground," she said.
"If we had a crystal ball we would have put a stop to it but we didn't."
Mrs Barnes said doctors had attributed her husband's epilepsy to a brain injury caused by playing football.
Shaun Smith, who played for North Melbourne and Melbourne, also spoke about the issues he faces and attributes to his playing days.
"I don't remember a lot of stuff at North," he said.
When showed footage of taking a knock to the head in a game, he said he couldn't remember playing that day.
But he knows that he went back on after half-time despite his concussion.
"I got knocked out probably 12 times and I reckon I probably had 30 to 40 other concussions on top of that," he said.
Smith said it was a common practice to go off for 10 minutes after a knock to the head and then go back on to play the duration of the match.
He admitted he now had a short fuse.
"I'm more argumentative," Smith said.
Smith said he had lost a number of friends due to it, which was something he was ashamed of.
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