Former Panthers and Dragons star Jamie Soward on concussion in the NRL

When Jamie Soward got knocked out playing for the Dragons, then coach Wayne Bennett was so worried he tucked his five-eighth into bed. And that wasn’t the worst of his concussions.

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So concerned for a concussed Jamie Soward was Wayne Bennett that the super coach virtually tucked his playmaker into bed.

“It was when I was playing for the Dragons, I got knocked out on the Gold Coast in 2011 and in the sheds afterwards, I nearly passed out,”' Soward said.

“It wasn’t anyone’s fault.

“But Wayne came and sat with me and looked after me, he gave me his room too and basically looked after me and made sure I was all right.

“He sat down with me in his room for what must have been an hour — and tucked me into bed pretty much.

“It’s scary thinking about it now.”

Soward copped a bad hit in his final season at Penrith.

Which is why the former premiership-winning five-eighth has become the latest rugby league player to declare he will donate his brain towards research into the impact of concussion.

Soward, who retired from the NRL at the end of 2016 after 232 first grade games, said he had been in contact with renowned co-director of the sports concussion clinic and Professor, Chris Levi.

“He’s going to get the paperwork out to me (to donate),”' Soward said.

“And hopefully I can continue to help the search for more knowledge so that they (medical experts) can help prevent it if possible, or help limit some of the after-effects. Especially in retirement.”

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In the final 12 months of his career, while playing for Penrith, Soward suffered a concussion which rocked him so hard that he had to spend three weeks in his home with the curtains drawn to keep him out of the light.

“I got knocked out a little bit when I was younger. From the age of four I started playing and then through my career, I've had about 20 (concussions),” Soward said.

“There were a couple of times where I’ve been knocked out and people were saying 'you're right, you're right.’

Soward knows the game has to change its stance on concussion.

“I wasn't the hardest player on the field, but I was playing at a time when there was no concussion protocol.

“I just don't want to see the next generation struggle in retirement.

“As soon as Sterlo (Peter Sterling) came out and said he was donating his brain for research, I thought I want to be a part of this.

“It’s not to try and ruin the game, so that we don’t have a sport, it’s about getting more knowledge about a serious issue.”

Soward also made an interesting point about the debate surrounding headgear and its ability to prevent concussions.

“People will say; ‘Oh well, he’s donating his brain’, But I actually wore headgear my whole career,” Soward said.

“People ask, ‘does headgear prevent concussions?’, well maybe not, but it may prevent the brain from that extra blow.

“We need to get rid of this stigma that wearing headgear is soft.’’

Originally published as Former Panthers and Dragons star Jamie Soward on concussion in the NRL