BLINDSIDE tackles need to be banned for player safety, says player agent Peter Jess.



Brisbane Lion Justin Clarke was forced to retire on Thursday after a head knock at training had lasting effects.



Clarke was told by doctors long-term damage was possible if he suffered a subsequent hit to his head.



"If we are going to have a gold standard for health and safety we have to limit the number of dangerous collisions and make changes to the rules to make it safer," player agent Peter Jess told News Corp on Friday.



"The first thing is to outlaw the blindside tackle, where someone gets hit (when they have) no vision for, or is not ready for, the tackle.



"We know long-term if we don’t have rules in place then the damage will continue."



Clarke is among five players who have been forced to retire with concussion-related issues since 2015. The others are fellow Lion Matt Maguire, Geelong's Sam Blease, North Melbourne's Leigh Adams and Adelaide's Brent Reilly.

Lions CEO Greg Swann told Melbourne radio station SEN on Friday morning that banning blindsided tackles would be going too far.

"I think we've done things around leading with the head - we've tried to stop that," Swann said.

"Concussion testing - the doctors are all over that. If there's any sign at all that you're not right, you won't come back on.

"I'm not sure how you stop blindsided tackles. Is it the tackler's fault or is it the bloke with the ball who hasn't got good vision? I'm not sure where that goes.

"We're very mindful of it, so I think we are pretty good at trying to limit the damage."