https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/nr...wins-battle-of-fullbacks-20210416-p57jz0.html
NRL to review Storm HIA calls as Papenhuyzen wins battle of fullbacks
The NRL will review the Storm’s decision to keep Cameron Munster and Harry Grant on the field after both suffered head knocks in Melbourne’s 20-4 win over the Roosters but did not undergo head injury assessments.
Roosters star Victor Radley was sin-binned and placed on report 13 minutes into Friday night’s clash after collecting the head of Munster, who flopped to the ground.
But Munster was given the green light to immediately return to the field, with the Storm’s club doctor deeming a HIA was not required.
After the game, Roosters coach Trent Robinson questioned whether sending Radley to the sin bin was the right call given Munster immediately returned to the field.
“[Radley] got 10 in the bin ... and then [Munster] comes back on 30 seconds later,” Robinson said.
“It looked like a guy who got knocked out, so should it be 10 in the bin? That’s up to the refs to explain that.”
Harry Grant, who ended up being the hero of the night, also remained on the field without a HIA despite looking dazed after a head clash with James Tedesco in the second half. He was later pulled from the field after playing multiple sets.
The NRL will be reviewing the Storm’s decision to keep Cameron Munster and Harry Grant on the field after head knocks without undergoing a HIA.CREDIT:GETTY
NRL boss Andrew Abdo said the game’s chief medical officer would examine the decisions.
“Our CMO will check all the angles and footage and see if there were any markers requiring a mandatory HIA,” Abdo told the Herald.
The Radley binning came as Ryan Papenhuyzen was undergoing a HIA after suffering a head knock just five minutes into the game.
Colliding with Josh Morris’ forearm, the 22-year-old was dazed and only regained his feet after a long pause lying on the ground.
He was taken off for a HIA as his game looked to be over, but passed and return to the field.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy said he lost count of the head knocks but said all players pulled up well post-match.
“I wasn’t quite sure how many replacements we had there at stages, so it was a little bit hard to keep up with but I haven’t heard anything serious,” he said.
Papenhuyzen ended up winning the battle of the fullbacks at AAMI Park. The flying fullback sprung up from injuring his knee to score Melbourne’s second try on the back of Jahrome Hughes’s opener to safely put the game in the hands of the Storm. Grant then scored their third to put the game to bed.
Tedesco came into the spotlight too late, putting in a perfect kick to Matt Ikuvalu in the dying seconds of the game to score their only try.
The pressure of the game also led to a litany of errors in the first half with the Storm finishing with 14 errors to the Roosters’ 15.
The already-depleted Roosters will now be sweating on the fitness of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Siosiua Taukeiaho, who both failed to return to the field after injuries.
Waerea-Hargreaves could be seen clutching his arm as he went up the tunnel in the 45th minute while Taukeiaho broke a rib in the physical game.
Before kick-off, the Roosters also received a huge blow with Brett Morris a late omission due to calf tightness. He was replaced by Ikuvalu, but will likely return in time for round seven.
