Todd Lowrie insists Rugby League is safe for kids despite Ian Roberts' claims writes Chris Garry...
HE was knocked out cold six days ago but grizzled Broncos forward Todd Lowrie has rubbished Ian Roberts' claims that rugby league is too dangerous for children to play.
Lowrie admits to questioning the fragility of his own brain after Canterbury Bulldogs giant Frank Pritchard flattened him with a shoulder last Friday night.
The incident occurred after Lowrie ran out of the line to put a big hit on but finished in the dressing-room dazed and unable to return.
However, despite the incident, Lowrie is adamant the code is one of the safest sports and held no grudges about Pritchard's brain-rattling effort.
Lowrie said league legend Roberts, who has been diagnosed with brain damage due to concussion, had it "completely wrong" when he told the Sunday Night programme parents should stop their kids playing contact sport.
In an expose of the dangers of repeated concussion in football Roberts, who played for Australia, said the risks of playing league were not worth the rewards.
It's quite possibly the beginning of the end of contact sport - hard contact sport - I was ignorant to just how severe the research and the medical evidence that has been gathered has become," Roberts said.
"I have got to say any parent, they have got to question the safety of their children (playing football)."
Lowrie, who has been involved in junior rugby league development during his decade as a professional, said the version of league that children played was completely different to the NRL.
"I heard Ian Roberts discouraging parents from letting their kids play and I think that is completely wrong," Lowrie told The Courier-Mail.
"I would like to say to parents that the game you see on television is nothing like the game the kids play.
"The game at the juniors level, which I have had a fair bit to do with, the stats show it is one of the safest sports available to kids because of the different rules.
"It is a completely different game."
"I love rugby league and while these things do happen they are accidents and not that common."
The incident last Friday night put Lowrie in jeopardy for tomorrow's blockbuster derby against North Queensland but the veteran forward is confident he will pass concussion tests.
He admitted the concussion he suffered and subsequent publicity from Roberts' admissions to suffering brain damage, made him think about the long-term damage he may acquire.
"It does to be honest. I would be lying if I said it didn't," Lowrie said.
"Every now and then you do think about those things. It is part and parcel of playing a contact sport.
"I have been playing the game for quite a while now, you cop knocks every now and then, but the simple answer is this is a contact sport and if you didn't want the contact you wouldn't play it.
"No one means to get knocked out. It is unfortunate and always an accident.
"If you don't want those risks you play another sport."
