Featured Image Credit: NRL/Supplied.
Topics: NRL, Rugby League, Australia
Jayden Collins
Rugby league great Phil Gould has torn into the NRL’s newest concussion protocols.
The league this year introduced independent doctors to the Bunker with their impact immediately being felt on and off the field.
Round one of the season saw a host of players forced off the field for head injury assessments (HIAs), with some rugby league personalities clearly not happy with their implementation.
Some polarising decisions made by the independent doctors over the weekend saw the likes of Kalyn Ponga, Kotoni Staggs, Jacob Kiraz, and Sebastian Kris removed from the field.
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Club doctors used to be in charge of deciding if players need to leave the field for an assessment.
However, now independent doctors are making that decision from the Bunker telling referees to remove a player, with the HIAs then conducted by club doctors at the ground.
Gould unloaded on the newest protocol while appearing on Nine’s 100% Footy, calling it the ‘greatest abomination perpetrated on our game in history’.
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Sheesh.
He said: “I've talked [about] this concussion hysteria and where the game is headed and why it's headed that way and who they've given weight to media and doctors and lawyers. All this misinformation…
"I think the doctor in the Bunker is the greatest abomination perpetrated on our game in history. It's confusing for players. Not every bump to the head is a concussion, not every concussion is life-threatening . It's just total overkill.
"I don't know how the players and the coaches are going to contend with this. I understand player welfare. So do clubs, so do coaches, so does everybody, so do doctors.
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"Unfortunately the club doctors are put in a position where they want the independent doctor because they don't want to have to make the decision themselves. It's just too difficult.
"It's not going to change, the game will not back away from this, they will keep doing it and it's going to create more and more problems."
Cronulla Sharks legend Paul Gallen also agreed with the sentiments saying the decision ‘should be put back in the hands of the club doctors’.
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He said: "They're not even at the ground being able to see the players. A lot of times you might cop a slap in the face, but how you react after that should come into account, as well."
Despite the backlash NRL chief executive, Andrew Abdo was adamant that the system was here to stay.
He told the Sydney Morning Herald: “We’re not going to make decisions based on who is winning or losing or who needs to stay on the field for a team.”
Adding: “We make no apology for the fact players will get removed from the field when they’re detected by one of these doctors for suffering a potential head injury event. We have a good, strong policy, and we’re not going to take a backward step on it.”