Former Kangaroos star Ian Roberts will reveal rugby league has left him with brain damage
KANGAROOS great Ian Roberts will reveal on Sunday night he is brain-damaged from his rugby league playing days.
NRL
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KANGAROO great Ian Roberts will reveal on Sunday night that he is brain-damaged from his rugby league playing days.
In a gripping interview on Channel Seven’s Sunday Night program, Roberts exposes the after effects of a career for Australia, NSW, South Sydney, Manly and the Cowboys.
The 48-year-old says: “I have brain damage. I’ve been acting now for 10 years, studying lines and that kind of thing.
One day you have it down and then the next day you’re like I have just lost all that info (sic) again.
“That’s really, I mean really scary stuff . . .”
Fears of future legal action from battered old players like Roberts is why the NRL is treating concussion issues so seriously.
It’s why the shoulder charge has been outlawed and punching banned in recent years, much to the annoyance and irritation of old-school fans.
There is huge concern in the NRL about the concussion backlash in the US, with former NFL stars lining up to take legal action.
Roberts is one of the toughest and most fearless men I have ever seen on a football field.
He played the game with relentless aggression and as a result suffered a number of concussions.
“You know, when you are 25, at the top of your game, you know you’re ten foot and bullet proof,” he told the show.
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“I’m 48 at the moment and when you have those lapses I have to check myself and I’m like, ‘oh why can’t I remember that or am I remembering that rightly?’”
He also has advice for mums and dads that will alarm the NRL administration.
“I have got to say any parent, they have got to question the safety of their children (playing football),” he said.
It’s why the NRL is coming down so hard on incidents like the Sonny Bill Williams shoulder charge in the season opener that will sideline the Roosters champion for three weeks.
The Insight program on SBS on Tuesday will also reveal some alarming concussion statistics.
Hospitals in Victoria and NSW have noticed a 32 per cent increase in sports related concussions in children in the last decade, although approximately 75 per cent of concussions still go unreported and undiagnosed.
YANKEE FOOD AT THE SCG
THE Sydney Cricket Ground will be transformed into something more like Chicago’s Wrigley Field for the Major League Baseball event in two weeks.
To make it a real American baseball experience, caterers will be offering everything from Nachos, 24” hot dogs, bacon on a stick and ice cream in a helmet.
The SCG’s usual outlets, the Pie Emporium, Doyles Seafood, Wagyu and Gourmet Burgers and oven baked pizzas will also be open and available.
Tickets to Team Australia against the Dodgers on Thursday, March 20, and Team Australia against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, March 21, are still available via ticketek.com.
ROO SELECTIONS THWARTS SBW
Sonny Bill Williams is so desperate to play State of Origin this year he’d give up his Kiwi Test jersey to do it.
The main trouble is that players have to be available for Kangaroos selection to qualify for Origin.
It’s a shame because Sonny Bill is far more entitled to be wearing a Blues jersey than Greg Inglis is of wearing a Maroons jumper because of his junior football history.
NRL REJECTS BID FOR WICKS RETURN
The NRL has rejected Danny Wicks’ hopes of a comeback in country rugby league this season.
The former Knights prop was jailed for 18 months and suspended from rugby league under WADA rules for four years after being found guilty of drug trafficking in 2011.
Lower Clarence in Group 1 applied to the NRL for the suspension to be reduced by 12 months.
SUPERCOACH IN ELITE COMPANY
SUPER coach Wayne Bennett was spotted in elite company at the exclusive Rockpool Bar and Grill at Thursday lunchtime.
Olympic boss John Coates, former prime minister Paul Keating, the CEO of Casinos and Resorts Australasia John Lee, Bennett’s son-in-law Ben Ikin and Sports Commission chief executive John Wylie were all hidden away in a private dining area.
It must have been an important catch-up because the normally smart-casual attired Bennett was wearing his best suit and tie. He would not comment when we phoned to check out what the meeting was all about.
BROWN RETURNING
NATHAN Brown has won three out of three at St Helens in a terrific start to the English Super League.
I’m now hearing he will be bringing his family back to Australia at the end of the season.
With a number of coaches on shaky ground, a far more mature Brown is now ready for an NRL gig and would make an ideal replacement.
PRICE IS RIGHT
ST GEORGE coach Steve Price is more than likely to last the entire season, irrespective of how the team performs this year.
Why? Because the club has no money and cannot afford to pay out his contract and then hire a replacement.
The Dragons recently had to approach the NRL to get an advance to solve cash-flow problems.
FAREWELL TIMED TO STEAL THUNDER
IT was so typical of Andrew Demetriou to hold off his retirement announcement from the AFL until the week of rugby league’s season launch.
As a result the NRL lost valuable exposure on Monday news bulletins and Tuesday newspapers.
It’s not the first time it’s happened during his stint as the AFL boss. Often Demetriou’s major announcements have been held back for Origin week or other big events to pinch publicity from his main rivals.
SAINT
FRIDAY night footy, takeaway Thai and Toohey’s New throwdowns.
I love you rugby league.
SINNER
SOMEONE needs to tell Shane Warne that smoking inside the Australian cricket dressing room is not only a bad look but also a health hazard. And it’d be handy if he could stay awake while they’re playing.
SHOOSH
WHO is the former NRL coach experiencing severe financial hardship over failed business investments and can’t find a job anywhere?
SHOOSH II
WHICH jockey recently spent $20,000 on a new set of teeth for his upcoming wedding to his Thai bride?
SPOTTED
PAUL Gallen on the Gold Coast last week at a bucks party for his Origin team- mate Greg Bird. We’re certain they won’t be as friendly at Shark Park tomorrow night.
YOU LITTLE CHAMPION!
I RECEIVED the most beautiful email this week from the father of Nathaniel Micallef, the brave little two-year-old boy who I mentioned last year was fighting bone cancer. As part of Camp Quality, the family turned to the Canterbury Bulldogs and their skipper Michael Ennis for inspiration. Just this week the family received the wonderful news that Nathaniel had won his battle and is now in remission.
STAY SHARP
IT’S a massive year for interim Sharks coach Peter Sharp, who is not only holding fort for Shane Flanagan in the Shire but is also getting married in October.
LINCOLN LINKED
A 10-year-old boy named Lincoln Pasterfield will lead the Sharks onto the field against the Titans tomorrow night. He is the son of popular racing media identity Tommy from Campbelltown, who bought the prize at last year’s grand final lunch.
BUSH KIDS LOVE BIG CITY
IT might have been an ordinary crowd but no-one enjoyed the NRL season-opener more than this group of youngsters. The 15 students came from Moree, rewarded for their dedication to school and the Clontarf Foundation, an organisation that exists to improve the education, discipline, self-esteem, life skills and employment prospects of young Aboriginals in the town.
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Inside the Panthers’ US-themed pre-Vegas blowout
With his team bathing in the afterglow of four-straight NRL premierships, Penrith coach Ivan Cleary came up with the idea of hosting a US-themed party prior to their trip to Las Vegas.