Former Kangaroos star Ian Roberts will reveal rugby league has left him with brain da

[herbert henry1908]

What's ridiculous is thinking you can somehow protect people from brain injuries and not end up with a totally different game.

 

[drago brelli]

What's ridiculous is thinking you can somehow protect people from brain injuries and not end up with a totally different game.

No, you'll end up with the game we have now.

 

[BunniesMan]

The bloke doing the Report on Sunday Night just said he reckons a mandatory 4 week stand down for every concussion. Is he for real? Not having super stars playing for that long would kill attendance dead.

Peter FitzSimons is a former Wallaby. He knows professional contact sport as well as anybody. He has been speaking to international medical experts. He wouldn't suggest that lightly.

If a mandatory 4 week rest was started players would take appropriate care to avoid head injuries as much as possible which means there won't be as many concussions as there is now.

And if you think there are so many concussions that it would affect the game that much, then you just further prove the point that more needs to be done.

Also 4 weeks is the ideal but a compromise could be reached at 1-2 weeks. The NBA does about 1 week generally.

 

[The Great Dane]

You might think differently if you were a former player suffering from brain damage caused by playing the game.

For all I know I might be.

I didn't play professionally, but I still played at a relatively high level (when spear tackles were still allowed as well) and it would actually explain quite a lot if it did turn out that I have brain damage.

You ever had a family member suffer from dementia. I have and it's not nice for the family or the person suffering from it. To know someone all your life and for them not to know you. For them to not even know who they are themself.

Both my grandparents and both my great grandparents on my mothers side had Alzheimer's, in fact we were certain that mum would get Alzheimer's as well, but thankfully for reasons unknown to us she hasn't.

You ever know someone who suffers from depression. I work with someone who suffers from it. To hear of their struggles and problems.

I have a great deal of experience with depression, but I'd rather not go into to many details about my personal experiences with depression on a public forum if you don't mind.

Their is still not enough information about concussion and what the long term problems are from it. That's changing, but there is still along way to go.

I agree completely, and just want to say that my opinion doesn't contradict anything that you have said, and in fact I agree with everything that you have said.

But until very recently we didn't really have a clue about the dangers of concussion, so how can we be expected to protect against it if we didn't know that it was causing serious damage!?

Yes now that we do understand it we need to take it much, much more seriously, and we already can see that the ARLC and NRL have started making changes to protect players as much as possible.

Also as I said before, even way back when I was playing every player knew that every time that they took to a field that there was a good chance that something could go seriously wrong that could seriously effect the rest of your life (or even end it) in an extremely negative way. Every player that has ever taken to the field knew and understood those risks, they may have underestimated them and we all definitely don't fully understand all the risks (even now), but we chose to play anyway. IMO that decision to play needs to be taken into consideration when talking about this subject, especially if there is talk of law suits.

 

[herbert henry1908]

No, you'll end up with the game we have now.

Ya think?


The do gooders won't stop at these reforms. They're already pushing for mandatory sit outs of 4 weeks.


I'm fine with the best medical knowledge making recommendations to players , but enforcing sit downs is a slippery slope.


You can only inform someone as to the best medical path to take. From their it's up to them what they do with that knowledge.

 

[herbert henry1908]

Peter FitzSimons is a former Wallaby. He knows professional contact sport as well as anybody. He has been speaking to international medical experts. He wouldn't suggest that lightly.

If a mandatory 4 week rest was started players would take appropriate care to avoid head injuries as much as possible which means there won't be as many concussions as there is now.

And if you think there are so many concussions that it would affect the game that much, then you just further prove the point that more needs to be done.

Also 4 weeks is the ideal but a compromise could be reached at 1-2 weeks. The NBA does about 1 week generally.

Actually he never played professional sport.

 

[The Great Dane]

The bloke doing the Report on Sunday Night just said he reckons a mandatory 4 week stand down for every concussion. Is he for real? Not having super stars playing for that long would kill attendance dead.

If a consensus of doctors say that's what it takes to protect the players as much as possible, then that's what it takes.

Though I think that a case by case analysis by independent doctors would be a better way to go then a blanket month stand down.

 

[herbert henry1908]

If a consensus of doctors say that's what it takes to protect the players as much as possible, then that's what it takes.

Though I think that a case by case analysis by independent doctors would be a better way to go then a blanket month stand down.

Why must it be mandatory though?


Surely someone's health is their own concern. No one else's .

 

[The Great Dane]

Why must it be mandatory though?


Surely someone's health is their own concern. No one else's .

I see your point, but for a big business like the NRL the stakes are too high to leave it up to the players themselves.

Player safety needs to come first even if it's at the expense of hurting their pride.

It'd suck if a player missed out on a Grand final, international or Origin, those are the only times that I'd turn a blind eye at the players discretion.

 

[Perth Tiger]

Might as well ban them from drinking as well. Binge drinking can also cause brain damage.

In saying that I do think the measures being taken to reduce and properly assess concussion are correct. But you will never eliminate concussions from rugby league or any contact sport. In this round alone Liam Fulton and Todd Lowrie Both suffered concussion in ways that can't be outlawed.

 

[herbert henry1908]

I see your point, but for a big business like the NRL the stakes are too high to leave it up to the players themselves.

Player safety needs to come first even if it's at the expense of hurting their pride.

It'd suck if a player missed out on a Grand final, international or Origin, those are the only times that I'd turn a blind eye at the players discretion.

Not as legal expert but surely a simple legal waiver could be signed?

 

[BunniesMan]

Might as well ban them from drinking as well. Binge drinking can also cause brain damage.

In saying that I do think the measures being taken to reduce and properly assess concussion are correct. But you will never eliminate concussions from rugby league or any contact sport. In this round alone Liam Fulton and Todd Lowrie Both suffered concussion in ways that can't be outlawed.

Noone is saying you can completely eliminate concussions. But Fulton and Lowrie and Gidley and all the other headknocked players will be running around sooner than they should. It isn't individual concussions that are such an extreme danger but repeated knocks to concussed heads.

They should all have to sit out 1 game at the very least. It would do a lot for their long term health.

 

[Springs]

Just finished watching Sunday Night. And shock horror, Peter FitzSimons also included his code. He used examples of a failure in duty of care in all codes, including his own, a big part of the story was the brain of his rugby coach being sent to America to be tested.

The experts say there should be a mandatory 4 week rest for all concussed players.

The experts and pretty much everyone with a brain would say the best thing for your 'health' is not to play rugby league at all, or any contact sport. I say 'health' because rugby league helps mental, emotional and social health a lot more than it damages physical health. The experts that you are talking about are talking in relation to complete perfect physical health. As in we'd all have to have perfect diets and no injuries ever. It's f**king stupid the way people carry on. There's nothing wrong with the way our sport is played now, apart from a couple of silly rules like the shoulder charge ban. The concussion bin is great. But maybe we should listen to the doctors and turn it into touch. Oh and the players have to be wrapped in wool, and the ground has to be marshmellow.

I also went to my doctor on Friday and he says it's great that I'm back playing football as it clearly helps my depression as well as making me physically fit. And he's treated me for broken ribs, arm and knee as well as several concussions and a bad neck injury. But he's the expert right? Better listen to him.

 

[Springs]

Noone is saying you can completely eliminate concussions. But Fulton and Lowrie and Gidley and all the other headknocked players will be running around sooner than they should. It isn't individual concussions that are such an extreme danger but repeated knocks to concussed heads.

They should all have to sit out 1 game at the very least. It would do a lot for their long term health.

Well you being a shut in I doubt you'd have any idea what a concussion even feels like let alone repeated knocks. Nor would you have any standing on which to comment what's right for a league player or not.

 

[Perth Red]

Been reading that high protein diets may be dangerous. Best ban them shakes NRL!
Having worked in the field of dementia for 25years anything that reduces the risk is to be applauded but short of going to flag football you have to accept a reasonably high level of risk of injury, including brain injury, if you're going to play high contact sport. I like the new concussion rule, though was surprised to see the eels player allowed back on today after clearly taking a severe head knock.

 

[NrlCoach]

mandatory 4 week stand down for every concussion.... does this merkin think rugby league a Amateur sport. its billion dollar sports competition and it aint going to rest player as it will cost them millions. can you imagine Slater, JT, Smith and Ingles all out of origin because of this rule. The only way the mandatory 4 week stand down will work is if the players ask for it and they are willing to take a huge pay cut.

 

[Canard]

mandatory 4 week stand down for every concussion.... does this merkin think rugby league a Amateur sport. its billion dollar sports competition and it aint going to rest player as it will cost them millions. can you imagine Slater, JT, Smith and Ingles all out of origin because of this rule. The only way the mandatory 4 week stand down will work is if the players ask for it and they are willing to take a huge pay cut.

Do you realise how crazy that statement comes across as? For your amusement they should continue to put there welfare at risk.

The money bit is irrelevant, do the players take pay cuts when out injured?

Also the guys at James Hardie asbestos mines were paid also, should they have just sucked it up.

 

[Canard]

Roberts on Sunrise now saying that he was misrepresented.

He stated that he hasn't noticed any affects. He did get tests to show that he has suffered brain damage however.

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Karma for Gary Jack?

Peter FitzSimons is a former Wallaby. He knows professional contact sport as well as anybody.

He wasn't a professional though.

 

[El Diablo]

Roberts on Sunrise now saying that he was misrepresented.

He stated that he hasn't noticed any affects. He did get tests to show that he has suffered brain damage however.

he should sue Fitzf**kwit