Worksafe assessing Carlton as Hollands’ dad posts heartfelt message

The father of Elijah Hollands has posted a heartfelt message in support of his struggling son, saying he will “lift him up until he is restored in full”.

The emotional message from Ben Hollands came as WorkSafe Victoria opened the door to an investigation into whether Carlton breached any occupational health and safety laws in leaving Hollands on the field against Collingwood last Thursday night.

“WorkSafe is assessing the matter to determine whether any action is required under the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” a WorkSafe Victoria spokesman said.

Hollands, who turns 24 on Saturday, has been admitted to a Melbourne hospital following a “mental health” episode against the Magpies at the MCG.

His father, Ben Hollands, released a note on Instagram on Tuesday alongside a portrait picture of his son in Carlton football gear handballing a football.

“This is my beautiful boy,” the message says.

“For anyone in the midst of healing … You are loved. You have a unique and defined purpose. You are seen whole.

“I know who my son is – and I will lift him up until he is restored in full.

“For those supporting someone who is struggling: encourage them, affirm them, and love them.

“Go to them, remind them of who they truly are …”

Ben Hollands played eight games for Richmond in 1999. He was initially recruited by Sydney from North Albury.

His sons, Elijah and Ollie, were united at Carlton at the start of 2024.

The Blues are completing an investigation into what happened last Thursday.

This includes why Hollands was not only allowed to take to the field, but why he remained on the ground, including into the final quarter when there had already been several instances of the player behaving erratically.

He did not have a single effective disposal in 60 per cent ground time.

As reported by this masthead, the hope is the Blues’ review is presented and handed to the AFL by Thursday.

This review could also determine whether WorkSafe launches a full investigation; the matter is yet to be elevated to that level. The employment watchdog will question the Blues and the AFL, and seek preliminary evidence before determining its next move.

In 2016, the Essendon Football Club was fined $200,000 and ordered to pay $20,000 in costs after pleading guilty to two WorkSafe Victoria charges regarding the 2011-2012 supplements program.

The Blues’ review is expected to examine communication between medical staff, coaches and interchange officials, as well as the protocols followed once Hollands’ condition became apparent.

Under league rules governing a player’s fitness to participate, the Blues could face a fine of $50,000 or more if it is determined Hollands should have been removed from the match. While those provisions have historically been applied to head trauma and concussion cases, they are not limited to physical injuries.

The AFL would need to determine that Hollands was medically unfit to continue – a threshold that introduces complex questions around how mental health episodes are assessed in real time compared to more visible physical injuries.

Elijah crossed from the Gold Coast after being taken by the Suns at pick 14 in the 2020 draft. Ollie was taken by Carlton at pick four in the 2023 national draft.

Both boys grew up playing football in the Albury-Wodonga region.

Melbourne premiership captain Max Gawn said on Tuesday the Demons would use the Hollands case to check how they would handle such a situation.

“It’s been a tough week in football with the Hollands family and the Dawson family,” Gawn said on Triple M.

The brother of Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson died last week in South Australia. Jaryd Dawson was reported missing by his wife, Jessica, on Tuesday. A day later police confirmed his body had been found and identified.

“It’s an interesting one. When things like this happen in football, we will use this [the Hollands incident] as a test case,” Gawn said.

“I’ll go into the leaders this week and put this on us, [and ask] what would we do in this situation? Once the game started going, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and we all saw what we saw on vision.

“I’d love to do a test case on myself and see how I’d react in that [situation] but, in hindsight, he should have come off the ground at some point.”

Gawn said he would have “multiple” face-to-face chats with teammates before taking to the field.

“But again, we’re presuming that Elijah was acting differently. We’ve been given a lot of vision [since the match] and it’s helped us come to our own determination of what should have happened with Elijah, but you have to remember how hard that actually is to call live,” Gawn said.

Support is available from Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 and MensLine Australia on 1300 78 99 78.

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