AFL star rushed to hospital after choking incident at Crown Hotel
Former North Melbourne footballer Miller Bergman was rushed to hospital after a piece of chicken became lodged in his throat during a football awards night at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium.
The 23-year-old Casey Demons defender was attending the VFL’s J. J. Liston Trophy count on Monday night when he became ill and had to leave the function.
Bergman was sick on the floor and unable to swallow fluids, with Casey coach Rhett McLennan and assistant David Main taking him to the emergency department at Berwick Hospital.
Despite being unable to dislodge the food, Bergman could still breathe.
‘He could breathe but he couldn’t get rid of the food in his throat,’ McLennan told News Corp.
‘It was well and truly lodged in there.’
Riley Bonner and Miller Bergman arrive during the 2026 VFL and VFLW Awards at the Crown Palladium
Bergman was taken to hospital after chicken became lodged in his throat during Monday night’s awards ceremony
The former North Melbourne defender could still breathe but was unable to swallow fluids after food became lodged
Bergman had earlier been photographed arriving at the awards ceremony alongside fellow footballer Riley Bonner.
Casey football manager Gary O’Sullivan was absent because of a family commitment but received a phone call alerting him to the incident.
He planned to check on Bergman on Tuesday morning.
O’Sullivan said he had not yet spoken to the defender, although he had heard nothing suggesting Bergman was not OK.
Bergman joined Melbourne’s VFL affiliate this year after an injury-disrupted AFL career that yielded 16 senior appearances across four seasons at North Melbourne.
The Kangaroos selected the Dandenong Stingrays defender with pick 38 in the 2021 national draft, giving him the opportunity to represent the club he had supported since childhood.
His father Shannon was also drafted by North Melbourne, taken at pick 66 in 1989, but never played a senior game.
Bergman’s own AFL debut ended painfully against Carlton in April 2022.
The VFL said it would contact Casey officials to establish Bergman’s condition after learning about the hospital visit
Called into the side as a late replacement for Aidan Corr, he injured his right shoulder after being tackled while kicking during the second quarter.
He was substituted out and missed the remainder of that season.
Bergman returned to play 12 AFL games in 2023 and signed a two-year contract extension, but managed just three further senior appearances.
Jaw, hamstring and ACL injuries disrupted his final two seasons at Arden Street, with his last AFL appearance coming in August 2024.
North Melbourne delisted him at the end of 2025.
