Paul Gallen says NRL needs to move independent concussion doctors OUT of the bunker to avoid repeat of head injury dramas that saw Trent Robinson blow up after loss to Knights
Former Cronulla Sharks star Paul Gallen believes the NRL must move independent concussion doctors out of the bunker if players’ safety and welfare are to be preserved.
The impact of concussions again took the spotlight opening round of the NRL season, with the Sydney Roosters losing Billy Smith and Victor Radley in the game against Newcastle after the pair were ruled out following brutal hits.
As part of a set of tweaks to the game introduced this season, the NRL has introduced independent doctors to rule whether players must be taken off the field following collisions that may result in a head injury.
Roosters lock Victor Radley was ruled out of the game against Newcastle with a head injury
The doctors sit in the bunker along with the video referee, a dynamic which Gallen feels is far from ideal.
‘I’d make one big change, and that would be to put the independent doctor on the sideline, instead of in the Bunker,’ the former New South Wales captain wrote in his Nine column on Monday.
‘I realise it would be more costly, but they’d have the best of both worlds. They can get a first-hand idea of the players’ condition, and also use the monitors on the sideline to watch all the action and request replays as they would do from the Bunker.’
Radley (left) got his head in the wrong spot when he flew in Newcastle’s Jake Clifford (right) at the SCG and was clearly hurt afterwards
The independent doctor took five minutes to rule that Radley had to come from the field
On Sunday, it took the doctor almost five minutes to remove Radley from the game after he got his head the wrong side of Jake Clifford as he delivered a crunching hit on the Knights halfback.
Radley looked clearly in trouble after the tackle and by the time he was eventually ordered off the field, the doctors had ruled him a category one case – the most serious type of head injury assessment, meaning the player has been knocked out, unsteady on his feet or falls without protecting himself.
Speaking after the Roosters’ 20-6 defeat, however, Sydney coach Trent Robinson lashed out at the medical ruling, insisting Radley and Smith had ‘no symptoms at all’.
Robinson also questioned the decision to classify both concussions as Category 1 cases, meaning neither Smith nor Radley could return to the game afterward.
Radley looked clearly in trouble after the hit on Clifford but stayed on the pitch
Paul Gallen believes independent doctors should be moved out of the video ref bunker
‘I think it’s a good idea. [But] Billy’s got no concussion – didn’t even remember an incident until the doctor showed him,’ Robinson told Fox Sports.
‘So for them to go Category 1 instead of Category 2 was tough for us. You’ve got to give some faith to the doctors to look at it as well. They don’t have any symptoms at all.’
The Roosters boss, however, conceded the introduction of independent doctors would help closing a loophole teams often exploited to get a free interchange, when club doctors deemed players had to come off following head collisions.
Rooster boss Trent Robinson (centre) criticised the decision to take both players off the field
‘They’ve made a call on how to get rid of the cheating of the system, which we all can acknowledge was there,’ he said.
‘They’ve gone to a different system. But they’ve got to also make sure they’re not pulling guys out of games without any symptoms at all.’
Gallen echoed Robinson’s view and acknowledged the introduction of independent doctors was a ‘step in the right direction’ from the NRL.
‘I’ve always felt there should be an independent doctor to oversee the process, because we’ve complained in years gone by that some clubs are rorting the system to get a free interchange,’ he added.