The final straw: Former Wodonga Bulldog on his concussion horror story

Macauley earned himself a reputation as one of the best defenders in the Riverina League, winning a premiership at Coolamon and a senior best and fairest, in a career that also saw him spend time at Wodonga Bulldogs in the Ovens and Murray.

But his career came to a quiet end last year, aged 30, after a head knock in the round five clash against Wagga Tigers at Robertson Oval.

It was the final straw in a private ongoing battle with concussion.

"I wouldn't be able to give you an exact number (of concussions)," Macauley said.

"There were four good ones when I went to (the Ovens and Murray). It really happened when I went down to play at Wodonga, round one, funnily enough, first game I got a bit of a sling tackle and that's where it all started."

Macauley said he got a few concussions as a younger footballer but it was only when he joined Wodonga Bulldogs in 2019 that the trouble began.

Macauley was more diligent than most country footballers when it came to his treatment of concussion.

A primary school teacher, Macauley did a lot of reading and took an active interest in the stories and research surrounding concussions in sport.

But that did not stop the concussions, nor from them impacting his every day life.

One particular concussion, sustained in round two of 2022 playing for Coolamon against arch-rival Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong, forced him out for 14 weeks.

"I was having dizzy spells and couldn't sleep. That was probably the worst of it, laying awake hard-wired every night, pumping, my body didn't know when to sleep," Macauley said.

"There were just dizzy spells here and there.

"I got told to manage this one a little bit better so I wasn't running. I wasn't doing anything. I was watching the diet, keeping off screen time. I was shocked. That one really shook me a bit.

"There's no lasting effects now and that's because I did the right things. Or at least I think I did. The proof will be in the pudding."

The AFL announced last week a significant change to concussion protocols in community competitions, increasing the mandatory stand-down period from 12 to 21 days.

Macauley is a big supporter of the increase.

"I think it's great," he said.

"When I was at Wodonga we treated it pretty seriously because the first one shook me. We treated that, I went and seen people, we took the appropriate steps. It was probably the biggest one I had. And that was early.

"I took my time, it might have been two weeks and there could have been a bye in there as well. But we took that pretty seriously because I knew I wasn't myself and I couldn't sleep.

"Wodonga were on the front foot, they were doing a little testing and were pretty protective of what was going on. I was never ever pressured to play. That's when (former St Kilda and Sydney player) Paddy McCartin was having his issues.

"Just after that, even with the time off, they just happened easier and easier.

"We treated it right, I took the time, I wasn't running, I read all the articles you had to and went and seen people. But it was happening easier and easier and easier. Until the point where I had to really look into fixing my sleep because that was one thing that was absolutely killing me.

"It was alright that I was feeling alright, it just shook some foundational things that I had to re-train myself to do. Through no fault of anyone, I felt fine, I just couldn't sleep.

"We went and seen the professionals, got their advice and we went from there."

Macauley said the time has well and truly arrived for concussions to be taken seriously, at every level, and he believes a shift in thinking from the old-school mentality from players is needed.

"The research that is coming out and all the stories you're starting to see, I think it's smart," he said.

"I know you want to be out there and you want to the best player out there and continue to do your thing for the team, and obviously some people are going to be very unhappy, but I think when you look at it, there's a long life out of football.

"That was my determining factor. I'm probably going to spend a lot more of my life, well I hope, not playing football than playing football so I want a certain quality there and I don't really want to rely on anyone when things go pear-shaped.

"I was 26 when it really started to happen so I was a little bit more mature however you try telling me when I was 16, 17, 18 that I have to take some time off when I'm obviously wanting to do as much as I could with all the opportunities you can do now. You want to be out there.

"It's a big education thing, education on how to protect yourself, for one, and the effects, you don't have to look very far now."

Macauley, an assistant coach at Coolamon last year, knew the time had come to hang up the boots at Robertson Oval last year.

"I got one, just a minor one against Tigers, where I got hit in the side of the head and split my ear and that just got me sweet. I was a bit dizzy but I had no lasting effects with that one but that was the time I said no, no more," he said.

"That was one where I stood up and the ground went from underneath me, but then I had no lasting effects. I was only just 30.

"It was a tough pill to swallow to begin with when you feel so good in the body, you're just a bit hazy up top, you think have I left at the right time? I don't know. Only time will tell.

"I feel a million bucks. I feel physically I still could and mentally I definitely could, it's just I didn't want to wait until there actually was something wrong or there was reason to stop."

For the time being, Macauley has found it best to remove himself from the team environment as he adjusts to being retired by 30.

He does however have a message for the next generation.

"I found it very, very difficult to be there and not play," he said.

"Because I was still training and doing all the fitness and kicking around with everyone, it's very hard to be there and feel as though you could be playing. I'll definitely take a bit more of a step away this year because I can just tell I'll get itchy feet if I was still out there.

"You see the young fellas come now and you can just see they're itching and itching to get some good hits and you can just see the fire burns in their eyes but you just have to tap them on the shoulder and say, mate you've got a lot ahead of you, you've got a lot of time ahead of you.

"It's tough for me to say that because I was once that young fella. But it all started with one good one to soften it."