Sydney Roosters halfback Luke Keary has declared the NRL is doing the “right thing” with its revised concussion protocols despite losing two players to rulings in an opening round loss to Newcastle.
In 2022 an independent doctor in the NRL’s video bunker can rule a player out of the game if he displays symptoms such as unstableness or disorientation on video replays.
Last Sunday the Roosters lost both Victor Radley and centre Billy Smith after the intervention of the doctor in the bunker in a 20-6 loss to the Knights.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson declared post-match that his players weren’t concussed.
“It’s a good idea (with the bunker intervening), but Victor has no concussion, Billy’s got no concussion – he didn’t even remember (which) incident (it was) until the doctor showed him,” Robinson said.
Keary, who has had significant battles with concussion issues himself after repeated head knocks, conceded the new system was a “work in progress” but backed the shift to independent analysis.
“It‘s going to be a bit of a work in progress, but it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
“Bringing an independent doctor in who has no affiliation, no pressure from coaches or outside influences … they can look at each case individually.
“It‘s not going to be perfect, but what they are doing is definitely the right thing. You need someone who’s not affiliated with the clubs making the decision.”
Despite the impact on teams with players potentially being wrongly ruled out, Keary said being overly cautious was a better way to protect their health and their futures.
“It‘s a very difficult, murky thing to control because it’s not a broken arm where you can see it,” he said.
“People behave differently when they are concussed. Some can look really bad and you’re not concussed and some can look innocuous and it can be a bad coxjmtzywncussion.
“No player is going to bring himself off and when you have a concussion you’re not thinking because you just want to play.”
