NRL’s concussion crackdown: Dragons, Knights and Titans handed massive fines for policy breach

ST George Illawarra, Newcastle and the Gold Coast plan to fight the massive concussion fines the NRL handed down on Monday.

Josh Dugan lies on the turf.

ST GEORGE Illawarra and Newcastle are ready to fight for the integrity of their medical staff and challenge the NRL over the massive $100,000 fines imposed on the clubs for concussion breaches.

In an unprecedented crackdown, the Dragons and Knights were hit with the breaches following incidents involving fullbacks Josh Dugan and Brendan Elliot during matches over the weekend.

Gold Coast were also hit with a record $150,000 fine for the club’s alleged failure to have three Titans players — Kane Elgey, Joe Greenwood and Ryan Simpkins — taken from the field for concussion assessments.

COMMENT: Why did NRL wait for concussion crackdown?

NRL boss Todd Greenberg defended the fines, claiming the three clubs had breached concussion policy.

“Our rules are so clear and they are very specific,” he said.

“If a player is lying motionless on the ground, they must be removed for an assessment and the person best placed to do that is the doctor. That didn’t happen yesterday,” he said in relation to Dugan.

Should Dugan have played on?

“I don’t want to get into each specific incident from the weekend because by and large, what I’d say is clubs have done a very good job over the past three years — doctors, trainers, coaches, players — adjusting to new policies and directions from the game.

“But what I saw over the weekend I was very disappointed on some incidents and we have acted on those today.

“I hope it sends a very strong message.

“Safety of the players I’ve said for a long time is the number one priority and today’s decision I think cements that.”

Greenberg said stiffer penalties, including the docking of competition points and deregistration of officials may be considered if clubs refuse to abide by the rules.

The Daily Telegraph understands both the Dragons and Knights were stunned when they were contacted by the NRL and made aware of the pending fines.

Brendan Elliot was hit in the jaw by Hymel Hunt.

In the Dragons’ case, the club was actually assisting the NRL on Sunday with a trial procedure that allows on-field trainers to speak directly with the doctor on the sideline.

But in a bizarre twist, The Daily Telegraph has learned respected Dragons doctor Tom Carrigan, head of accident and emergency at Wollongong Public Hospital, did not have access to replays to review Josh Dugan’s injury because the NRL’s own injury assessment tent was not functioning at the time.

The Dragons are adamant both Carrigan and the club’s head of athletic performance Nathan Pickworth followed the necessary concussion guidelines.

It is understood Pickworth initially did not see Dugan go down because he was monitoring the welfare of another player.

But as soon as Pickworth arrived to attend to Dugan, the star fullback was conscious and showing no effects of concussion.

LISTEN: The Monday Bunker crew dissect all the fallout from the Jason Taylor sacking plus review a massive weekend in the NRL.

The initial fear was that Dugan had suffered a jaw injury, while Pickworth was taking extra caution because of a previous neck injury that had required surgery.

NRL chief medical officer Dr Paul Bloomfield also attended the game in an official but it is unclear if he consulted with Carrigan.

Knights CEO Matt Gidley did not want to comment on the fine.

“Until we have a look at the breach notice to see exactly what is detailed in it, we can’t make any comment,” he said.

Like the Dragons, the Knights seem certain to mount a strong defence.

“Tony Ayoub is one of the most respected medical high performance managers in the NRL and he was the trainer who attended to Brendan on the field,” one source said.

“He was with him within seconds because he was already on the field and Brendan was responsive and had no trouble with the on-field concussion tests the players are put through.