Australian Rules football (ARF) is a potentially violent, overhead, body-contact sport. We reviewed 56 shoulders in patients who sustained their initial traumatic anterior subluxation or dislocation during ARF and who underwent reconstructive surgery for traumatic anterior instability, whether by arthroscopic or by open techniques. Patients were followed up for a mean of 29.4 months after operation, and clinical evaluation was performed with the Rowe grading system. Three types of surgical procedures were performed: arthroscopic suture repair, arthroscopic Bankart repair with an absorbable polyglyconate tack, and open capsular shift with repair of the Bankart lesion. Shoulders treated with arthroscopic suture repair had a 70% rate of recurrent subluxation or dislocation on return to ARF Dislocations treated arthroscopically with the biodegradable tack had a 38% rate of recurrence of instability; three fourths of the recurrences were after minimal to moderate trauma. Shoulders treated with an open capsular shift and Bankart procedure had a 30% rate of recurrent instability, with half of the recurrences caused by violent trauma. In the open group there were no failures in patients who did not return to ARF. We suggest that arthroscopic repair in shoulders with anterior instability and recurrent dislocation does not adequately address the plastic deformation of the anterior capsule that may occur after repeated episodes of dislocation. We advocate open shoulder procedures in ARF athletes to address all areas of the capsulolabral pathologic condition and to provide the most secure repair possible with minimal chance of recurrence.