NRL warning: Ex-Rooster Bobbie Goulding part of 75-player class action lawsuit

Former Sydney Roosters playmaker Bobbie Goulding is part of a 75-player class action which could have wide-reaching ramifications for the NRL and Australian sport.

Great Britain legend and former Sydney Roosters playmaker Bobbie Goulding is among 75 rugby league players who are suing England’s Rugby Football League over brain-related injuries.

In a landmark case that could have ramifications for the NRL, Goulding and a slew of English players claim the RFL failed to protect them during careers which led to the group suffering from illnesses such as dementia, Parkinson’s and epilepsy.

The NRL has been rocked by similar revelations in Australia.

In the past fortnight, NRL legends Mario Fenech and Ray Price have revealed they have been diagnosed with dementia, while former Bulldogs and Dragons prop James Graham has also revealed his concerns with brain damage after estimating he had 100 concussions during his decorated career.

Mario Fenech. Picture: 7NEWS Spotlight.

Goulding, who had a brief stint with the Roosters in the 1990s, is among a group of league players who have followed the lead of 220 English rugby union professionals, who launched their own claim earlier this year.

Goulding, who starred for St Helens and played 22 Tests, says he started to suffer symptoms of early-onset dementia during his 30s and considered suicide at his lowest point.

Now 50, Goulding claims he is one of many English players who have been abandoned by the RFL during their post-playing health struggles.

“We are crying out for help,” he told English newspaper The Mirror.

“It’s the biggest pandemic that’s ever going to hit the sport, and it’s happening now.

“But rugby league has washed its hands of us.

“When the specialist said, ‘You’ve got early-onset dementia,’ Paula (his wife) and I both started crying.

“Our lives changed in an instant. The scariest bit is not knowing how fast it will progress. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. I’ve never been scared of anything in my life, but I’m scared of this. I sit looking out the window for six or seven hours.

“I don’t realise time is passing. There’s mad, bad headaches, where you feel so sick you can’t lift your head off the pillow and I have to take anti-dizziness tablets every day, otherwise the room starts spinning.

Bobbie Goulding holds up 1996 Silk Cut Challenge Cup trophy.

“I keep forgetting things. The other day I went to get something to eat and, without thinking, I took my teeth out and put them in the fridge. I couldn’t find them for 24 hours.”

According to a study, rugby union players are 2.5 times more likely to suffer from dementia and Parkinson’s than rugby league counterparts and are 15 times more likely to get motor neurone disease.

But that hasn’t stopped Goulding and other league players - including Welsh duo Michii Edwards and Lenny Woodard, Scottish pair Jason Roach and Ryan MacDonald and England’s Francis Maloney - from taking legal action.

Ryland Sports Law’s Richard Boardman is representing the 75 rugby league players and issued a sombre warning for elite stars in Super League and the NRL.

“We are of the view that this is an epidemic,” he said.

“Everything our experts have seen suggests that up to half of elite rugby players will end up with some kind of neurological impairment.

“That means thousands have brain damage and are struggling with symptoms but aren’t aware what they have.

“We think hundreds of premature deaths of rugby players may be linked to brain damage.

“Players are retiring with hundreds of thousands of sub-concussive blows on top of the concussions. Rugby urgently needs to change if the sport is going to survive.”

Goulding and his group are accusing the RFL of not taking reasonable steps to make sure players suffering head injuries were thoroughly assessed and given treatment.

The letter also suggests that the RFL failed to protect young players by giving permission to 16-year-olds to play at the professional level.

“Before I was diagnosed, I was all set to commit suicide,” said Goulding, who played for Great Britain against Australia during the 1994 Kangaroo Tour.

“The only thing that stopped me was looking to my left and seeing a photo of my children.

“I collapsed on the floor and burst out crying and didn’t stop for hours. I’ve had 30, maybe 40 players contact me who want to end it all and I’ve sobbed with them.

“Frightened to death, they don’t know where to turn. I’ve tried to get them tested and get them help, but no one from the sport has contacted them.

“Rugby League doesn’t care.”

A spokesman for Rugby Football League told The Mirror: “The RFL takes player safety and welfare extremely seriously, and it has been desperately sad to hear of any players’ difficulties. Player welfare is always of paramount importance.

“As a result of scientific knowledge, the sport of Rugby League continues to improve and develop its approach to concussion, head injury assessment, education, management and prevention across the whole game.

“We will continue to use medical evidence and research to reinforce and enhance our approach.”

Ray Price recently revealed his battle with dementia. Picture: Adam Head

Eels great Price told News Corp a fortnight ago of his struggles with dementia and appealed for NRL authorities to stamp out high tackles.

“There’s no doubt the head knocks I copped during my playing days has caused my brain damage,” Price said.

“I believe the referees of that era had the weapons to stop these tackles from occurring and they refused to do it.

“It’s crap.

“There would be a fair few players from my era who would be battling dementia.

“It will not go away and the game and the referees have to make sure they stop high shots in the game.

“I don’t believe I copped a stack of concussions, but I do remember games where I would cop a knock and be dazed and we just got up and played on.

“That was what we did back then.

“The game looks after players a lot more today than they did when I played and that’s great. I fully support what’s going on in the game today.”