KANGAROOS coach Mal Meninga says decisions on a player’s health will be made by independent doctors rather than NRL clubs to keep Australia’s Four Nations campaign from being marred by player withdrawals.
Well over a dozen withdrawals from Australia’s 2014 squad saw the credibility of the tournament cop a battering two years ago, with players understood to be increasingly under pressure from their clubs to rest up or undergo elective surgery.
Already it’s been revealed Manly pair Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic both require ankle operations at the end of the year, while Wests Tigers sensation James Tedesco will also need off-season surgery on a broken nose suffered in Origin.
But following the sweeping review that installed Meninga as Australia’s first fulltime national coach, any call on a player’s availability will be made by an independent medico.
“We’re now in constant contact with the clubs so we’ve got a great understanding of where the players are at from a health point of view,” Meninga told foxports.com.au.
“If they need end of season surgery we’ve got an independent process with the NRL chief medical officer Paul Bloomfield, so there’s a bit more transparency around whether players are available or not available.
