NRL 2021: Rabbitohs young gun Campbell Graham opens up on concussion injury

The tackle that sidelined Campbell Graham for a month was the most innocuous incident you are ever likely to see on a rugby league field.

Campbell Graham of the Rabbitohs looks on during the round 23 NRL match between the Penrith Panthers and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium, on August 20, 2021, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

This is exactly why no head knock on a rugby league field should be ignored.

Campbell Graham says he still can’t remember who the tackle was on.

What he does remember is sitting in his hotel room two weeks after the incident feeling alone and struggling to deal with his emotions.

Welcome to the world of a concussion injury.

South Sydney’s young gun centre took time out of the build up for Friday night’s blockbuster against the Sydney Roosters to open up in a heartfelt interview about a head knock he suffered back in round 18 that kept him sidelined for four matches until his return in last week’s game against Penrith.

And what is most astonishing yet disturbing about Graham’s recollections is that the tackle that caused him to spend a month on the sidelines was the most innocuous and innocent incident you are ever likely to see on a rugby league field.

It wasn’t the result of a dangerous head high or a shocking act of foul play that has wiped out the likes of James Tedesco and Ryan Papenhuyzen in the past and caused huge outrage and controversy.

In Graham’s case it was just one of those tackles that you see 100 times every game that sometimes go wrong through no-one’s fault.

But it once again highlights exactly why all concussion injuries need to be monitored with the greatest of care.

Because even when a tackle doesn’t look dangerous, in the blink of an eye this one turned a 22-year-old’s life upside down.

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Campbell Graham was sidelined for a month with concussion. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

To this day Graham says he doesn’t recall who his tackle was on.

But a quick check of the match tape shows it occurred 22 minutes into the first half of the game against Canterbury when Jayden Okunbor was taking a hit up and some late footwork at the line left Graham’s head in exactly the wrong place.

“I sort of stumbled out of it,” Graham recalled.

“I remember I was dazed for just a couple of seconds, but once I got back into the defensive line I knew exactly where I was.

“I didn’t have any memory loss.

“I didn’t go unconscious.”

But soon after play was stopped as Souths’ physio Eddie Farah put Graham through onfield concussion protocols.

It involved a balance test and Graham was asked three simple questions:

What day was it? Who did they play last weekend? Where was he playing?

He answered all three correctly and so was allowed to continue.

But when the sideline doctor reviewed the incident he decided Graham had to leave the field.

“And the HIA didn’t go too well,” he continued.

Not only was his balance off but his testing levels were down on his baseline results recorded at the start of the season.

With hindsight it highlighted just how far the game has come because in decades gone by there is no way a player would have been replaced after an incident like this.

“I definitely wasn’t 100 per cent but I felt like I could’ve kept playing and I wanted to play on,” he continued.

“I felt like I was in a bit of a fog.

“But I didn’t feel that my head knock would have lasting symptoms.”

Campbell Graham’s tackle on Jayden Okunbor.

Campbell Graham’s tackle on Jayden Okunbor.

But it did, to the point where two weeks later the symptoms were only getting worse and Graham had to have 10 days of complete rest.

The day following the Bulldogs game he said all he felt was a slight headache and a bit of a sore head.

But while he thought he would be right to play that next weekend against the Warriors, by captain’s run he took a turn for the worse.

“I was sort of training with the team in a game simulated drill and my head started pounding,” he said.

“I didn’t play that game against the Warriors but I was confident I would play the next week against St George Illawarra.”

But by the end of the following week “I had a more severe headache and a more consistent headache for about three days and neck pain.

“And after that I was told I had to have a full 10 days off where I didn’t do anything.

“I pretty much sat in my room.

“I had meals with the team and I went for walks and stuff to get out. But I didn’t do any physical activity.

“It was obviously very frustrating and upsetting just waiting for my symptoms to go away.

“And when you are in an environment where the boys are playing every week and training every day and you just had to sit there and watch it was pretty hard.”

He concedes there were times when he was on his own, or talking to his parents Lisa and Stewart on the phone back in Sydney, when it got the better of him.

“My Mum and Dad definitely wanted to make sure I was putting my health ahead of my footy and they were checking up on me every day,” he said.

“But for the first couple of weeks I was by myself in my room, in my own thoughts, and I was getting headaches, so it wasn’t very good.

“It was hard not to get emotional.

“But to be fair the staff and all the coaches didn’t put any pressure on me and were very good reassuring me not to rush to come back early.

“It took a lot of pressure off me.”

Campbell Graham is back for the Rabbitohs after spending a month out following a concussion. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

It was Graham’s second concussion injury this year after an earlier incident in the Charity Shield that didn’t force him to miss any games.

He said by the time he took the field against the Panthers last Friday night he felt completely recovered and confident within himself.

“After that first bit of initial contact once you are back and your lungs are blowing you’re not thinking about it too much,” he explained.

“You can’t afford to think about it when you’re playing.

“If you are second-guessing yourself going into contact then it is probably going to end up worse for you to be honest.”