00:00Adam Hunter's growth from lanky teen to premiership backman plays out across his parents' walls.
00:13Little did they know, invisible changes were taking place.
00:17Tests revealing lesions on his brain, linked to repeated head knocks.
00:22When you see your son run onto the football field and within five minutes he's on the stretch of being carried off,
00:29shaking and convulsing and it's pretty upsetting.
00:34Hunter was only 43 when he died.
00:37Early coronial findings indicate methylamphetamine related heart failure.
00:42But an examination of his brain confirms he was battling another beast, chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE.
00:49With low stage CTE they often present with symptoms that overlap with mental health symptoms
00:56such as anxiety, depression, rage, poor impulse control.
01:03We've had many families tell us that their loved one sought some relief through drugs or alcohol.
01:11Hunter's brain had lesions consistent with stage 2 CTE and evidence of a subtype
01:17which can carry more severe early onset mental health issues.
01:22We ourselves are doing research to try and develop biomarkers for confident diagnosis during life.
01:31Professor Buckland says it's still a small minority of players who develop CTE,
01:36but the risks can be minimised by limiting the amount of full contact during training
01:41and leveraging new technologies like smart mouth guards.
01:44The AFL says it's already made a number of rule changes to reduce the amount of forceful high contact during games
01:50and has committed $25 million towards researching the game's impact on brain health.
01:56Hunter's parents hope the donation of his brain will help protect other players.
02:01Adam had given us the best of our life and the worst.
02:05What was the best day?
02:07Winning the grand final.
02:10No, I'd just say just being there.
02:14Just being a son.
02:18I've been a son.
02:19I've been a son.
02:20I've been a son.
02:21I've been a son.
02:22I've been a son.
02:23I've been a son.
02:24I've been a son.
02:26I've been a son.
02:27I've been a son.
02:28I've been a son.
02:29I've been a son.
02:30I've been a son.
02:31I've been a son.
02:32I've been a son.
02:33I've been a son.
02:34I've been a son.
02:35I've been a son.
02:36I've been a son.
02:37I've been a son.
02:38I've been a son.
02:39I've been a son.
02:40I've been a son.
02:41I've been a son.
02:42I've been a son.
02:43I've been a son.
02:44I've been a son.
02:45I've been a son.
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