The Jawun Research Institute warmly invites you to attend the next presentation in the Jawun Research Institute Seminar Series.
We are pleased to welcome Dr Darren Clunn, Research Worker at Jawun Research Institute at CQUniversity, who will present:
“Into the Collision Zone” Sport Related Concussion (SRC) | Looking through the lens of the Greatest Game on Earth
Concussion remains a significant health concern in elite collision sports. While match-related head impacts are well recognised as a primary injury mechanism, less is known about the collision contexts in which concussions occur. In response to growing research on concussion risk factors, sporting organisations have introduced rule changes and strengthened player welfare protocols to improve safety and injury management.
This presentation explores the collision zone and the contextual characteristics associated with Head Injury Assessments (HIA) in National Rugby League (NRL) athletes. The study involved 34 full-time professional rugby league players competing in the NRL and 33 part-time professional players from the Queensland Cup and Under-20s competitions. Using wearable GPS technology, video analysis and notational analysis through sports science software, the research tracks and measures collisions, contact events and tackles during competition.
The project aims to identify and define key ball-carry and tackle characteristics and examine factors associated with concussion events. Both prospective and retrospective video analysis methods are being investigated, with the long-term objective of supporting real-time identification and analysis of high-risk collision events. Preliminary findings provide insights into the relationship between collision exposure and concussion risk, with practical applications for enhancing player performance, informing technical and tactical decision-making, and improving fitness strategies to help minimise fatigue and injury risk.
Presenter
Darren Clunn is a high-performance sport professional, academic and researcher with more than 20 years of experience across elite sport, higher education and international performance environments. His career has included performance leadership roles with the NSW Waratahs, ACT Brumbies, Rugby Australia, Ricoh Rugby Club (Japan), World Rugby and Fiji Rugby Union, providing a unique perspective on athlete performance and welfare in elite collision sports. Darren's research focuses on athlete monitoring, training load management, collision exposure, injury prevention, concussion and evidence-based performance practice. He is currently completing an industry-based PhD investigating the relationships between training load, match workload, collision exposure and concussion in elite rugby league. His research aims to advance understanding of athlete health and performance while strengthening the connection between scientific evidence and applied high-performance practice. Alongside his doctoral studies, Darren has held academic appointments at the University of Sydney, contributing to teaching across Exercise Science, Health Sciences, Nutrition and Education. His combined experience in research, teaching and professional sport enables him to translate scientific evidence into practical outcomes that support both athlete performance and practitioner development.
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