So on one hand we have McManus suing Newie for breach of duty of care, then on the other hand we have the NRL criticizing us for using the head bin the most. Go figure.
Furious Parramatta coach Brad Arthur defends his club over concussion rule claims
Andrew Webster
Parramatta are expected to come under intense scrutiny over their use of concussion-related interchanges with damning data revealing they use the head bin more than any other club at certain times of the game.
NRL head of football Brian Canavan warned coaches at a meeting just before Christmas last year they would come down heavily on clubs exploiting the concussion laws to gain a free interchange.
The NRL memo read in part: "Round one saw nine HIAs (Head Injury Assessment). Whilst it was clear that the majority of these were handled appropriately, we are continuing to monitor the intended application of the free interchange process. It was agreed that this is a game-integrity issue and thus you are asked to be compliant with the required procedures."
Under the rules, a player who leaves the field for a SCAT test is not counted as one of the team's eight allowable interchanges for the match. The same applies if the player returns to the field.
The issue of concussion is such a hot topic at the moment with former Knights winger James McManus suing his club for brain damage suffered during his career.
Yet the game's dirty little secret is that some clubs flaunt the rules by bringing players off and then back on when they don't need to.
When Eels captain Tim Mannah left the field in the 22nd minute against Manly last Sunday for a SCAT test after receiving a poke in the eye in what looked to be an innocuous tackle, it certainly raised concerns among rival coaches.
Mannah returned to the field later in the half and played another 30 minutes for the match.
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur was furious when contacted on Thursday about the suggestion his side had manipulated the concussion rules.
"Tim did not take a dive," Arthur said. "He did not want to come off and that is in our report to the NRL. The trainer went out and saw him on the field and he said he had blurred vision and headaches. They went to the sideline and our chief medical officer looked at the vision and said, 'No, you need to tell Tim to come from the field'. I didn't know it was a head assessment. I didn't even know that it was a free interchange until Tim was ready to come back on."
The Mannah incident aside, an independent analysis of concussion-related interchanges from the 2016 regular season highlights some interesting trends.
Of the 359 concussion-related interchanges last year, Parramatta had the most with 46. The Titans were next with 39, followed by Souths (29) and the Warriors (28).
It's generally accepted that coaches make their first interchanges between the 15 to 25-minute marks when forwards are getting tired and need to be rotated with the bench.
Last season, there were 43 concussion-related interchanges in that period across all clubs. The Eels accounted for 10 of those. The Titans and Tigers had seven each.
Perhaps the most telling figure, though, relates to who the Eels are replacing.
They were one of only four clubs last year that didn't refer one outside back to the sidelines for a SCAT test. The closest who came to it was utility Kenny Edwards.
But the other three – Melbourne (23), Canberra (21) and Manly (10) – had far fewer concussion-related interchanges than Parramatta.
In one match against Souths last season, the Eels made as many as 16 interchanges in total. Against the Wests Tigers, they made 15.
Understandably, Arthur came out swinging in defence of his club and also argued that the club had become more vigilant than others when it comes to concussions.
In early 2015, the club was fined $20,000 for three separate incidents in which Nathan Peats, Isaac Des Gois and Will Hopoate were allowed to stay on the field despite head knocks.
"It annoys me that people insinuate we are flaunting the rules," Arthur said. "We've got a duty care to look after our players. In 2015, Peats and De Gois, we let them return to the field of play and we got smashed for that — and probably within reason, too. We were fined.
"I've got a thousand things going through my mind during a game. I don't want my best players coming from the field. Why would I have them coming from the field? We ask our players to play tough and physical and to put their head where other players mightn't. We get bumped around a bit. But if someone radios up to me that a player needs to come off, I am not going to say he needs to stay out there with a concussion and put myself and the club under any more pressure."
Asked if he believed rival coaches exploit the concussion rules, he said: "I'm not one of those coaches who forms opinions on other teams and what they do. I worry about my own club."
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...r-concussion-rule-claims-20170309-guubx3.html
