Souths Duty of Care

[Penrose Warrior]

Yeah, the future of the NRL is flag footy...give us a spell. Real low IQ point of view sort of stuff.

It's not like it's possible to iron anyone out with a legal shot, right?

 

[Ziggy the God]

The best way for this to be resolved IMHO is for Kyle's family to sit him down and talk him into retirement. That way he owns the decision and it will be better for him in the long run.

There are no set rules at the NRL atm for multiple concussions, so that should also be addressed going forward.

I wish there was as much concern for Kyle when he was hit with a shoulder to the head in the All Stars Game. A shot that broke his neck. Radio silence from the media and everyone on this site.

Also, there was this piece in The Australian today, best to post it as it is behind the paywall:

--------------

Even experts agree Kyle Turner can play on
THE AUSTRALIAN AUGUST 06, 2015 12:00AM

So many voices yet one notable absentee. Among myriad opinions proffered over the future of South Sydney forward Kyle Turner, the one voice we haven’t heard is that of Melbourne neurologist Paul McCrory.

McCrory is one of the world’s foremost experts on concussion. According to one of his bios, he is recognised as a global leader in the field of concussion and CTE — chronic traumatic encephalo*pathy, the degenerative brain disease found in athletes and linked to repetitive brain trauma.

McCrory has worked for a range of sports. He is internat- *ionally regarded and has organised meetings around the world in the area of concussion. When the NRL wanted an expert opinion on Turner this year, they funded his trip to see McCrory.

McCrory didn’t want to talk about Turner when he was contacted by The Australian earlier this week but his reluctance to discuss the Rabbitohs backrower had nothing to do with his findings. Rather, he had no desire to discuss the health of one of his patients with an inquisitive journalist.

Fair enough. The point is that McCrory may be the most respected and authoritative voice on concussion in this country and he had no objection to Turner returning to the playing field earlier this year.

That alone suggests Turner has no obvious side-effects from the concussions which blighted his career. He has effectively been given a clean bill of health. Despite the reaction to his latest concussion, there is no medical reason why Turner should be prevented from playing in the NRL again.

Regardless, South Sydney are rightly taking a cautious approach and despite naming Turner in their side for tomorrow night’s game against Manly, he is no certainty to take the field.

“I think there a lot of opinions around this circumstance but we’ve got some great people in the background, neurosurgeons, he’s been through many tests, the NRL themselves have asked us to do a number of things in the background prior to him playing,” coach Michael Maguire said.

“He’s been ticked off. With the neck issue, it’s stronger now than it’s ever been.

“Kyle’s shown he’s able to tick all the boxes and if he’s right we’ll allow him to play. I talked to his parents and his family and we’re well aware of the situation but he just wants to play footy.

In the aftermath to Turner’s latest concussion focus has again fallen on the NRL and its handling of one of Australian sport’s most vexing issues. The game has been in talks with the AFL and ARU over the issue since late last year.

The chief medical officers from the respective sports met in March and are due to hold talks again at the end of the year. There had been talk that the country’s major codes would seek to introduce uniform guidelines on the handling of concussion, although that appears unlikely to happen in the immediate future.

Manly forward Willie Mason yesterday called on the NRL to continue monitoring its handling of concussion, suggesting the code could look to introduce a mandatory stand-down period.

“I think the club or the NRL need to take a lot harder look at players in that situation,” Mason said. “The protocol is there but if you get knocked out in boxing you have a mandatory three months out. (Manly teammate) Steve Matai two weeks ago was out cold. He couldn’t pass the test last week, now this week he is fine.”

 

[morley101]

There is a huge whip-lash effect when a player blind-sides another player ( Matai on Tyrell) or does a body check/legitimate tackle on a player who has already passed the ball and his body has relaxed.

 

[muzby]

I wish there was as much concern for Kyle when he was hit with a shoulder to the head in the All Stars Game. A shot that broke his neck. Radio silence from the media and everyone on this site.

april this year..

turner:

"Turner has suffered six serious head knocks in the past 12 months — understood to be the most of any NRL player.

The Coonabarabran product has been heavily concussed four times in 2014 and subsequently taken from the field for assessment under new NRL guidelines.

Worse, the promising back-rower suffered another two head knocks in NSW Cup late last year, leaving him with serious headaches and worrying bouts of nausea.

full article here: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1227073084596"​

that article re: turner was from september last year.

add to that his head slam & busted neck from the all-stars, he may be best to weigh up his long term future now..

perhaps he should pick up the phone and have a chat to shaun valentine..

 

[Danish]

Yeah, the future of the NRL is flag footy...give us a spell. Real low IQ point of view sort of stuff.

It's not like it's possible to iron anyone out with a legal shot, right?

It is right now, yes. And as people continue to get injured from these shots the legal juggernauts scared of the game getting sued will soon enough make those illegal too. Then we'll figure out how to hurt people in the kind of tackles that are legal at that point as well, have THAT stripped, and somewhere down the line we are all playing touch football.

At some point the players deciding to play the game have to be allowed to accept the risks involved in the sport. Boxing is still perfectly legal and the primary aim of that sport is to concuss your opponent on purpose, so clearly the "the game will get sued if we don't do something" angle is bullshit.

Instead of constantly trying to remove the collision from the game, we should simply give the players all the information on the risks of getting multiple concussions so that they informed from a legal standpoint, and then take much more serious action when a player receives a concussion. A mandatory 4 weeks out of the game for the first concussion in 12 months, with scans and independent doctors to clear them to play again. Periods then ramp up steeply for your 2nd concussion of the season, and after a player receives 3-4 concussions in a reasonably short period of time (say, over 2 seasons) then serious talks about forced retirement can come into play.

The "he just had his bell rung, but his a tough bastard so will be right for next week" garbage is what has to be curtailed, not the physicality of the sport itself.

 

[Pete Cash]

It doesn't have to be a mandatory minimum but there should be an independent board that hands out medical suspensions. Just like combat sports.

Long medical suspensions are the banning shoulder charges of the combat sport world. The first ufc had people fighting multiple times in one night. Now Ronda rousey gets a 30 day medical suspensions after she knocks someone out in 30 seconds.

 

[muzby]

The "he just had his bell rung, but his a tough bastard so will be right for next week" garbage is what has to be curtailed, not the physicality of the sport itself.

 

[adamkungl]

If you think the bannings will stop at the shoulder charge you're living in a fantasy land. What happens next time the Telegraph and twitter crybabies drum up a tantrum over a nasty looking concussion. You'll have tackling above the ribs banned. Or maximum 2 in a tackle. Another step closer. And on it will go.

Even Steve Mascord thinks contact sport has a limited shelf life as society becomes more refined (aka up its own arsehole).

Every safety crackdown is another step closer. Rugby League will be responsible for it's own slow demise by refusing to stand up for itself. It's the Cronulla Sharks of the sports world.

 

[SharkShocked]

Worth noting that after tragic death of Phil Hughes, they haven't stopped bowling bouncers.

Lots of articles floating around that are emotionally charged both for and against the shoulder charge.

Tough topic though.

 

[Danish]

It doesn't have to be a mandatory minimum but there should be an independent board that hands out medical suspensions. Just like combat sports.

Long medical suspensions are the banning shoulder charges of the combat sport world. The first ufc had people fighting multiple times in one night. Now Ronda rousey gets a 30 day medical suspensions after she knocks someone out in 30 seconds.

Perhaps mandatory minimums aren't the best way to do it, but yes an independent medical board handing out suspensions for head injuries would be ideal.

The reason I figured 4 weeks as a minimum is that most fighters that get even TKO'd seem to be handed at the very least a 1 month suspension from fighting, so figured it would be a reason time. Would be certainly open to a team of doctors ruling on each case as it happens instead.

 

[adamkungl]

Worth noting that after tragic death of Phil Hughes, they haven't stopped bowling bouncers.

No surprise here. Most of the Rugby League fanbase, media, and admin is scraping to hit a 75 IQ.

 

[Pete Cash]

We also need to remember that pro sports means athletes are faster, stronger and heavier with the same brain. Even the most rose coloured lenses *back in my day* romantic would recognise that if say Greg inglis was sent back in time to the 60s/70s he would just be snapping blokes left and right because he would be faster and stronger.

Pro sports has made contact even more dangerous.

 

[Sleep]

If you think the bannings will stop at the shoulder charge you're living in a fantasy land. What happens next time the Telegraph and twitter crybabies drum up a tantrum over a nasty looking concussion. You'll have tackling above the ribs banned. Or maximum 2 in a tackle. Another step closer. And on it will go.

Even Steve Mascord thinks contact sport has a limited shelf life as society becomes more refined (aka up its own arsehole).

Every safety crackdown is another step closer. Rugby League will be responsible for it's own slow demise by refusing to stand up for itself. It's the Cronulla Sharks of the sports world.

It's more that they're trying to make sports safer and the administration is trying to protect themselves from future lawsuits hence the introduction of the concussion protocol, removal of shoulder charges.

This is happening everywhere. In the NFL you now have the defenseless receiver rule, in F1 the cars are limited in what they can do powerwise, the list goes on and on. Safety is priority number one.

 

[adamkungl]

It's more that they're trying to make sports safer and the administration is trying to protect themselves from future lawsuits hence the introduction of the concussion protocol, removal of shoulder charges.

This is happening everywhere. In the NFL you now have the defenseless receiver rule, in F1 the cars are limited in what they can do powerwise, the list goes on and on. Safety is priority number one.

See above point about society disappearing up its own arse. In 30 years picking a sport will be down to which one is the least gimped from its former glory (so, soccer).

f**k safety.

 

[Pete Cash]

f**k safety lol

There was a regulatory response after the germanwing plane crash. Is that also in the f**k safety category. At least if you are in a plane crash where a pilot suicides by locking his co pilot out you can die happily that you said f**k safety.

 

[adamkungl]

f**k safety lol

There was a regulatory response after the germanwing plane crash. Is that also in the f**k safety category. At least if you are in a plane crash where a pilot suicides by locking his co pilot out you can die happily that you said f**k safety.

Did they ban planes? Shit.. im supposed to be catching one tonight

 

[Pete Cash]

No but they didn't ban rugby league. They banned a pilot being left alone in the cockpit though....

 

[Sleep]

See above point about society disappearing up its own arse. In 30 years picking a sport will be down to which one is the least gimped from its former glory (so, soccer).

f**k safety.

Kam Chancellor is a safety. I certainly wouldn't want to f**k him. Dude is a beast.

 

[adamkungl]

No but they didn't ban rugby league. They banned a pilot being left alone in the cockpit though....

It was a strawman argument and you know it. The situations aren't remotely comparable.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

If you think the bannings will stop at the shoulder charge you're living in a fantasy land. What happens next time the Telegraph and twitter crybabies drum up a tantrum over a nasty looking concussion. You'll have tackling above the ribs banned. Or maximum 2 in a tackle. Another step closer. And on it will go.

Even Steve Mascord thinks contact sport has a limited shelf life as society becomes more refined (aka up its own arsehole).

Every safety crackdown is another step closer. Rugby League will be responsible for it's own slow demise by refusing to stand up for itself. It's the Cronulla Sharks of the sports world.

Steve Mascord is the modern-day Darwin, is he? Or is he just another journo with an opinion? Like he has a single clue on where society and sport is going. That's a highly speculative shot at where contact sport will go, and one I reckon is completely horse shit. My opinion = Steve Mascord's opinion.

I figure UFC was conveniently invented for neanderthals who miss rugby league as a blood sport. The rest of us stick around for the skill.