Don’t knock league, we’re acting on issues
Craig Bellamy
The Australian
March 22, 2014 12:00AM
CONCUSSION is an issue in our game and so it should demand our attention. Taking far too many sleeping pills is obviously against the best interests of anyone’s health, including rugby league players.
But I am keen to see these two player-welfare issues kept in context. If we go a little over the top on these two, we will damage our game and I’ll tell you why.
First concussion.
The NRL has done a lot to try to remove the dangers of concussion in our game. The league has introduced rules that clubs must follow if a player is concussed during play.
It’s a contact sport and unfortunately concussions are going to happen at times. But the league has done a good job, and a really big job, in trying to lessen the chances of concussion.
The shoulder charge has been ruled out, head-high tackles are dealt with pretty severely at the judiciary, and throwing a punch has also been banned. That’s a clear way of stopping players from getting hit in the head, while removing the shoulder charge has reduced the whiplash effect on the neck and brain.
So our game is a lot cleaner, or less dangerous if you like, as far as head injuries go, than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago.
One of the reasons our league has been so strong more recently is probably what’s been happening in the NFL with the number of players suing for compensation.
But it might surprise you that rugby league is not the sport where the severity of concussions is greatest.
The NRL club chief executives were recently addressed by leading concussion expert and associate professor Paul McCrory of Victoria’s Florey Institute, who gave a great insight into the research going on in relation to head injuries.
Horse racing topped the list, he explained, and that included steeplechase and show jumping.
We have heard a lot recently about concussion in rugby league. We’ve had ex-players talk about brain damage openly and bravely.
But we must be careful we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot on this important player-safety issue. Rugby league is in a real dogfight with other sporting codes for talent. We reach out to schools and to parents to try to recruit as many juniors as we can.
However, the saturation of coverage on the concussion in rugby league at the moment would turn any parent away.
If I had school-age kids still, I would be questioning whether to let them play too. We don’t seem to hear about it rugby union or the AFL or other sports.
So we need to emphasise the work the NRL is doing, and has already done, to reduce head injuries. We need to discuss concussion in that context.