Warriors hooker Wayde Egan has expressed his sympathy for league legend Wally Lewis and gratitude to be playing in a “more careful” NRL era.
Lewis, who played 34 tests for Australia in a lengthy career spanning from 1978 to 1992, revealed on Sunday he was suffering from a neurodegenerative condition linked with dementia.
The 63-year-old told Australia’s 60 Minutes he had been diagnosed with probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and hoped it would help attitudes continue to change.
“For a lot of sports guys, I think most of us take on this belief that we’ve got to prove how tough we are,” Lewis said. “But we’ve got to take it on and admit that the problems are there.”
Egan, who has suffered from head injuries this season, shared his well wishes to Lewis and his family, and said he was satisfied the NRL had been tackling the issue with requisite care.