Roosters coach Trent Robinson weighs in on NRL concussion laws

AS debate rages over concussion in rugby league, Roosters coach Trent Robinson has weighed in saying: “To make it black and white is really hard.”

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AS debate rages over concussion in rugby league, Roosters coach Trent Robinson has weighed in saying: “To make it black and white is really hard.”

Robinson’s common-sense approach to concussion follows the NRL coming down heavily on clubs exploiting the concussion laws to gain a free interchange.

Parramatta, Canterbury and Penrith all received a “please explain” letter from the NRL in the opening two rounds as to why players remained on the field despite seemingly suffering bouts of concussion.

The Eels have also faced heat over their use of concussion-related interchanges with data revealing they use the head bin more than any other club at certain times of the game.

Under the current concussion rules, a player that leaves the field for a SCAT test is not included as one of the team’s eight interchanges.

This has opened the door for some clubs to flirt with the new concussion rules.

Robinson, though, says there is so simple or obvious decision when it comes to the complexities of concussion.

“It’s really hard because James McManus’ case is there,” Robinson said.

“So we’ve got to make sure we look after the player and we make sure we get them off if there is suspicion of that otherwise we could be in trouble.

“Then there comes the other side that are we getting them off too much?

Trent Robinson - like other NRL coashes - is trying to figure out the concussion laws.

“So it’s a fine line between, are we abusing it or are we actually doing the right thing?

“It’s hard to judge and I don’t think there has been one sanction from the NRL on concussion this season.

“I think it’s up to the NRL to ask those questions and if they think there is something wrong, then they are the governing body and they need to deal with it.

“But it’s an interesting time and it’s only in the last couple of years where it has been a big change for us.

“The change is right, but to make it black and white is really hard.”

On the football, Robinson believes the Roosters are benefiting from evolving attacking structures in the NRL this season.

A record number of points have been scored in the opening two rounds and he credits the change to teams altering their mindset in attack.

“It has only been two rounds, but there has been a choice of teams to move the ball a bit more,” he said.

Retired Newcastle Knight's winger James McManus is suing over concussions. Picture: Peter Lorimer

“There has been a lot more passing than normal and I think it has created a lot more unstructured play, which is good to see in our competition and it’s what fans want to see.”

Robinson couldn’t be happier with his team’s unbeaten start to the season, but he’d like to see greater perfection in their execution.

He said it’s a challenge starting with Saturday’s blockbuster clash against the attack-potent Panthers at Penrith.

“I think we’ve scored close to 60 points in the competition, which is really good,” he said.

“I think the attack has evolved and changed a bit this year, so you’ve had to go there.

“But it hasn’t been good enough on the control on the other end. That’s way too many points (conceded) and some have come through attacking errors for us and we’ve got to improve that.

“We’ve had a good start, but we probably haven’t had 80 minutes yet out of either of the games.

“We like what we’ve done, but it’s not quite good enough for one of the favourites of the comp like Penrith.

“We need to improve, so that’s what we’ll be aiming for.”