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Story on Dane
Dane Haylett-Petty opens up on 12-month battle with concussion upon retirement
Nick Taylor
The
Former Western Force and Wallabies star Dane Haylett-Petty has literally listened to his head after a 12-month battle with concussion.
The popular full-back, the first homegrown WA player to go through the Force junior system to play for Australia, said he had left no stone unturned attempting to prolong his career before opting to hang up his boots.
“I tried to give it every chance,” Haylett-Petty said.“I gave it a full 12 months but I always said I would only come back and play if I was 100 percent. Unfortunately I haven’t got to that point.
“I’ve got to about 90 per cent, training hard and tackling, but never quite shook it.
“Specialists said listen to your head and make the right decision.
“It’s hard to walk away from something you have spent your whole adult life doing, literally, from the day I finished school. It was my dream as a child to play international sport. Rugby is all I’ve ever done.”
Haylett-Petty, 32, suffered a head knock against the All Blacks at the Olympic Stadium on October 31 last year.
The former Hale School student took an elbow to the face from ball-carrier Jordie Barrett early in the match.
“I struggled through the game with blurry vision,” said Haylett-Petty, who scored 12 tries in 38 Tests after making his debut in 2016 against England.P
He did not play again as he continued to suffer with “footballer’s migraine”.
It was his “sixth or seventh” head knock in a career that began at the Force in 2008, included spells with Biarritz and Toyota before a return to the Force in 2014, and a move to Melbourne Rebels when the Force were axed by Rugby Australia.
Haylett-Petty said the decision to retire was ultimately made for him.
“It wasn’t a great quality of life living with headaches every day,” he said.
“I’m on migraine medication that helps hugely but I can’t train to the level that I would need to be a professional rugby player.
“They can’t tell me how long it will be before it goes away but generally it will go away now I’ve stopped tackling and running into people.
“I do light exercise now. I’ve stopped doing anything that stirs me up. Right at the beginning specialists said ‘listen to your head’.
“I put my faith in them but they could not tell me about the long-term risks.
“Some people get footballer’s migraines after one head knock, some after 10, others don’t get it no matter how many head knocks they get.
“Some guys I spoke to went through it for a couple of months and then suddenly woke up one day, felt fine again and had long careers.
“That’s what I was hoping for but I just couldn’t get to that point.
“It’s good that the game is taking better care of players and that a lot of resources are being poured into research.
“Players are more aware of the risks and the game is moving in the right direction.
“We are learning so much more about the risks of concussion but there’s so much more to do.
“It’s a complicated issue. There’s a huge spectrum of views.”
With his rugby career over Haylett-Petty is looking forward to the future with new son Hugo with partner Hannah and the chance to concentrate on his off-field businesses.
He is set to open his third health food cafe and drive-through, Nourish and Feed, in the northern suburbs that he owns with his sister and start a gym, Fitstop in Jolimont, with former Force scrum-half and good friend Justin Turner.
“I’m excited to do something else, to start a new chapter and take on some new challenges,” Haylett-Petty said.
“With my concussion, what’s done is done, but how I live the next 20 years is important.”