EXCLUSIVE
Retired Western Bulldogs teenager Aiden O’Driscoll has opened up about the devastation of his AFL dream ending.
O’Driscoll was medically retired in May after suffering a sickening concussion at training in January.
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Drafted in November as the best athlete in the pool, the 18-year-old’s AFL career was over inside six months.
Referred to the league’s concussion panel after a series of tests following the training incident, O’Driscoll joined Melbourne flag hero Angus Brayshaw and Collingwood premiership defender Nathan Murphy in being medically retired.
Speaking to 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary, O’Driscoll said he struggled to comprehend the devastating news.
“To be honest, the first couple of weeks afterwards it hit me pretty hard,” he told 7NEWS.
“I didn’t get much sleep, it just hit me really hard. I had the best support around me with friends and family and all the staff at the club, it was just unreal. But it was very tough, I’m not going to lie. I also had my girlfriend (Claudia) by my side every step of the way, which helped so much.”
O’Driscoll clashed heads with teammate Bailey Williams during a training session in January.
Incredibly, it was his first ever concussion.
“It’s amazing how one hit can impact the rest of your life,” he said.
“It was just a normal training day, we were starting to get further into match sim … me and Bailey Williams just clashed heads, this is what I got told, I didn’t remember any of this.
“It was a massive hit, hit me behind the ear and it just knocked me out cold. Woke up in the ambulance 10 minutes later thinking ‘how the hell did I get here’.”
O’Driscoll spent two days in hospital and was restricted to light duties when he returned to training.
He underwent multiple scans before the panel discussion but never expected to be told he could never play AFL again.
“I was just expecting the best result and not expecting the worst. I was thinking maybe worst case is out of the rest of the year,” he said.
“Once I got through (the panel discussion), it was OK, but then when I found out the result at the end, I was like ‘what?’ This was not expected, I didn’t realise it was going to be a retirement.
“Once I got out of there, I just completely lost it to Mum. She was probably the best person to be there on that day. One of the worst days I can imagine, finding out that news.
“I just thought it was a pretty severe injury, but seeing the results, the microhemorrhages on the brain. It’s just all so overwhelming.
“I explained it in the meeting in boys and I just went numb. I’ve lost my dream. It’s over within six months and all too soon to be honest. Just heartbroken straight away.
After the initial devastation, O’Driscoll is already looking on the positive side.
He has accepted a job with the Bulldogs academy and is keen to explore an athletics career and one day race in the Stawell Gift.
“It’s a negative, but we can easily turn it around into a positive and just continue life being happy.”
O’Driscoll’s older siblings Nathan and Emma both play for Fremantle in the AFL and AFLW respectively, and Aiden added the family support has been invaluable.
