Coach's alleged words to Test cricketer before head hit

A private school football coach allegedly directed students to "go in hard" against each other during a training drill a Test cricketer claims left him with the first of a series of career-ending concussions.

Former Australian cricketer Will Pucovski has taken launched legal action against his former school Brighton Grammar over its handling of a concussion he suffered during an Australian rules football training session in 2014.

Once considered a generational cricketing talent, Pucovski announced his medical retirement from the sport in April last year aged 27.

He played one Test for Australia against India at the SCG in 2021 in a career interrupted by head injuries.

In a writ filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Pucovski says he experienced at least 13 known concussions injuries from balls to the head throughout his cricket career.

Those exacerbated symptoms from a primary head injury he sustained at the school when he was 16, he claims.

In the May 2014 training incident, he says he was hit in the left temple by a teammate's knee during a sling tackle in a full contact training drill and was knocked unconscious

Brighton Grammar football coach Alex Sylvan had directed students to be aggressively physical and "go in hard" against each other during the keepings off drill, Mr Pucovski's lawyers claimed.

Students had been warned the session would be especially physical after they lost to fellow APS school Scotch College "by a very substantial margin" the previous weekend.

After regaining consciousness, Pucovski was assisted off the oval for the remainder of the drill, but returned to the field for the rest of the session after Mr Sylvan allegedly asked if he could take part in the next drill.

The claims are yet to be tested in court and neither Brighton Grammar nor Mr Sylvan have had an opportunity to file their defence.

Brighton Grammar School declined to comment as the matter is before the courts. Mr Sylvan was contacted for comment.

Lawyers for Pucovski allege the coach did not have appropriate accreditation or training to coach junior amateur AFL players and failed to arrange medical assessment or treatment for the future Test cricketer.

The school was vicariously liable for the alleged care breach by failing to inform Pucovski's parents of the head collision, the writ alleged.