NRL introduces mandatory 11-day layoff for concussion
Rugby league players diagnosed with a concussion after NRL games will now be forced to undergo an 11-day compulsory stand-down suspension under stricter protocols approved on Wednesday.
The NRL has acted on evidence provided by a wide range of medical experts and after considering the latest concussion data.
The stand-down, which will be imposed on any player concussed either at training or during a game, comes into immediate effect for the Manly v Parramatta clash at 4 Pines Park on Thursday night.
Clubs will, however, be able to apply for exemptions to the 11-day stand-down provided the player concerned can satisfy a neurological specialist by passing a set of criteria which includes:
- No Category 1 signs or symptoms are observed
- The player is asymptomatic the day after the concussion
- Cognitive testing is normal
- The player has suffered less than five previous concussions
- The player has had no previously diagnosed concussions in the previous three months
- The player has no history of a previous concussion with a prolonged recovery
ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys stressed there was “no greater priority” for the game than the safety of its players.
“That is front and centre of everything we do,” he said.
“Our current head injury protocols are exceptionally strong. Following a review of the data and the expert advice we have received, the Commission has enhanced these protocols even further by providing a mandatory 11-day stand-down period following a diagnosed concussion.”
The issue of how to deal with concussion is among the biggest facing the game, and with more medical data being made available it has become a priority for the NRL.
It’s a problem that dates back a long way.
Brisbane Broncos, Queensland, and Australia winger Willie Carne walked away from rugby league in the mid-1990s after suffering a spate of head knocks and he still experiences memory loss at times.
“My memory is getting way worse, I got knocked out about a dozen times,” Carne said some years ago.
Around the same time, giant young forward Adam Ritson, who was starting his career and making a name for himself with Cronulla, was the target of several bad head knocks because of his size and power.
In his case, though, the hits to his head saved his life.
He had just switched clubs from Cronulla to Parramatta in a huge deal, but in his 11th game for the Eels and the 40th game of his career, he was knocked unconscious in a high tackle by Canberra forward John Lomax.
During a routine brain scan, it was discovered Ritson, who was 19 or 20 at the time, had a life-threatening cyst on his brain which required more than a dozen surgeries, but he made a full recovery.
Not everyone will be happy with the ARL Commission’s decision, but with the size and power of players in today’s game, it is no surprise that player safety has become such a high priority.
