Michael Burgess: NRL head injury move drastic - but necessary

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad prevents a Kalyn Ponga try. Photo / Photosport

OPINION:

For once, it’s hats off to the NRL.

The league governing body has been an easy target over the last few years – with a series of unusual, curious or just plain dumb decisions or initiatives, many of which haven’t improved the overall product or the sport.

The endless attempts to speed up the game – when it is already so fast. The new, unnecessary rules. The six-again idea. The dispensing of the two-referee system, just when it has never been harder to adjudicate.

One of the worst initiatives is the mandate around stripping the ball, which discourages attacking flair, with the need to ‘lock up the pill’.

It has led to all kinds of unintended consequences, with the ugly sight of three players in a tackle before teammates drop off.

But they need to be commended for their new process around potential head injuries and concussions, which saw several players removed from games on the instruction of the NRL’s independent doctors during the opening round.

Newcastle fans might not agree, after gun playmaker Kalyn Ponga was taken from the field at a crucial time of their clash with the Warriors in Wellington.

The Knights had momentum at that stage – down 14-12 but hot on attack – before Ponga was called to the sideline.

The NRL’s medical officer had spotted an earlier collision – unseen by team doctors or the referee – which apparently warranted checking and saw the star No.6 off the field at a crucial junction of the match.

It was an important step for a sport that hasn’t always taken concussion issues seriously.

That was the first, with Kotoni Staggs (Broncos), Jacob Kiraz (Bulldogs) and Sebastian Kris (Raiders) also hauled off in subsequent round-one matches.

The coaches weren’t happy.

“Do you think I’d let a player play if they had a concussion or is concussed?” Canberra coach Ricky Stuart asked.

Players weren’t happy. And fans were disgruntled.

But it needs to happen more, not less.

Better to be cautious and occasionally wrong than risk the long-term effect of concussion and head trauma.

There are always teething issues with new directives, but it will work out and eventually become normal.

Concussion and head injuries are one of the biggest issues in the sport.

There have been so many incidents over the years and anyone who saw the tragic Channel Seven story on South Sydney legend Mario Fenech last year couldn’t help but be moved.

His battles with early onset dementia – believed to be Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) caused by repeated blows to the head – was a stark reminder.

Playing on with concussion used to be a badge of courage, whether it was Dean Lonergan for the Kiwis in 1991 or any number of Winfield Cup folk heroes in the 1980s.

Things have moved on considerably, since then, though the sight of a player backing up seven days after a concussion – because he passed a whole lot of protocols during the week – is always a bit jarring.

But there is much more recognition of the dangers and the latest move is significant.

It will probably affect the Warriors at some stage this season – maybe with an important player missing in a crucial match - but fans will have to live with it.

This move might not be universally popular - but it can’t be faulted.