Dr Alan Pearce, who is awaiting funding for concussion research from the league, questioned how people could commend retiring Brisbane Lions defender Justin Clarke, and then days later laud the body-slam tackle laid by Greater Western Sydney colossus Shane Mumford on Geelong midfielder Mitch Duncan.

Mumford charged at Duncan during their sides' match on Sunday, appearing to make contact with Duncan's head, before driving him into the StarTrack Oval turf. The Cat, who weighs 88 kilograms, briefly lay prostrate, and played no further part in the game. Yet the 107-kilogram Mumford was not cited by the match review panel on Monday. The incident did not even warrant a mention in the weekly MRP summary, but the league confirmed to Fairfax Media that the MRP had looked at the tackle, which gave rise to headlines questioning whether it was the greatest tackle ever laid.

Dr Pearce, who in 2013 found a link between footballers suffering multiple concussions and changes in brain health, said he thought the glorification of the Mumford incident was a bad look in the wake of the retirements of Sam Blease, Matt Maguire, Leigh Adams, and most recently Clarke, whose promising career was ended after he failed to overcome problems stemming from a January training incident.

"Last week they're talking about young guys who are now no longer able to play the game they love, and this week it's 'oh he's knocked him into next week,' " Dr Pearce said.

"Why is it that we're still glorifying the really big hits? He was just ploughing through someone. It wasn't anything skilful."

Duncan allayed concerns about his health on Monday. "Certainly picked the wrong bloke to run into yesterday," he tweeted. "All in all feeling good today. Thanks for the messages #greatwallofmummy."

The Cats confirmed that he had not sustained any lingering head issues, and was due back at the club on Tuesday. The Giants had on Sunday tweeted their admiration for Mumford's tackle. "You'll wanna share this! A ground-level play-by-play of Shane Mumford DESTROYING Mitch Duncan. #AFLGiantsCats #Ouch," they wrote. Duncan's courage, meanwhile, earned him Geelong's "hard play of the week" award.

While Dr Pearce said he appreciated that the incident was exciting and evinced a primal reaction in football followers, he maintained that he couldn't reconcile the positive reaction to the clash. "It's a spectacular incident. I can see why people would highlight it. But as a neuroscientist you struggle with knowing what potentially can happen.

"The thing I take issue with is the contradiction. Last week we're telling really sad stories about these young guys that can't play the game they love any more. And this week we're highlighting someone getting absolutely mowed down and almost enjoying it."

Dr Pearce said the media's reaction was symptomatic of archaic attitudes towards head trauma in sport. He cited a paper of his which is currently under peer review, and is likely to be published later in 2016, in which exercise science students were questioned about their views on concussion in light of recent research and publicity in the area, as well as several high-profile retirements.

Dr Pearce said the students' responses had pointed towards a respect for players who continued playing after a concussion.