AUSSIE rules causes almost a third of sport-related head injuries that send children to hospital, research has found.
But junior footy teams say they are working to make the game safer and some are ensuring all players wear helmets, the Herald Sun reports.
The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute study collated information about children aged 6-16 presenting with head injuries to the Royal Children's Hospital over a year.
Of the 406 head injuries in 2004, 70 per cent involved boys and one-third occurred while playing sport.
Australian rules was associated with more than 30 per cent of the sport-related injuries.
Overall, most injuries were mild, but 13 per cent were moderate or severe.
Acting AFL Victoria CEO Mick Daniher said it was not surprising that footy had the most injuries given 150,000 children played the game in this state alone, and many more enjoyed a casual kick.
Mr Daniher said while one injury was too many, a raft of safety measures had reduced the number of children hurt each year.
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