‘Scary’ moment Roosters skipper Boyd Cordner couldn’t ignore

Boyd Cordner wasn’t convinced he needed a week off after being concussed in a game — until he saw for himself what had happened.

• GAME I: DT NRL experts pick their NSW Origin teams

• LIVEWIRE: Murray all but certain for Origin debut

Boyd Cordner wasn’t convinced he needed a week off after being concussed in a game — until he saw for himself what had happened.

Despite being left prone on the Suncorp Stadium turf with severe concussion early in a round 9 match against the Raiders, Cordner pushed Sydney Roosters medical staff to approve a quick return the following week against Brisbane.

It was then Cordner requested to watch graphic footage of the incident, which left him motionless on the ground.

Boyd Cordner copped a nasty concussion against Canberra. Picture: Bradley Kanaris

MORE NRL NEWS

LATRELL: THERE WERE DAYS I COULDN’T GET OUT OF BED

LOYAL MAN: PANGAI BRUSHES BLUES FOR TONGA

He was so shocked that he immediately ruled himself out of the Broncos game.

“I wanted to play the next weekend,’’ Cordner said. “Being a player, I was going in and pushing them to let me play.

“But (the doctors) said ‘look, we’ve had a look at it, it looks pretty bad’.

“When the HIA (occurs), the video stays on the player so they can determine it. I didn’t move. I asked if I could have a look at it. I think I needed to see that.

“Once I saw it I thought ‘shit, I’ll have a week off’. It was pretty scary. If I hadn’t seen it I would’ve been like, ‘why can’t I play?’

Cordner gets his head in a bad position.

The Roosters co-captain is left with a heavy concussion for his efforts.

“Normally I haven’t been out (concussed) for that long, so I’ve just seen it in the game. But then when the footage went off me, I was still down.

“I just needed to see that, not for peace of mind, just to know how bad it was. It wasn’t good to see but it was good in the end.”

Cordner has been passed fit to play for the Roosters against Newcastle on Friday night at McDonald Jones Stadium. He will return refreshed and ready.

“I’ve suffered a couple of symptoms but I’ve come good now,” Cordner said. “When you suffer a knock like that you’re bound to get some (headaches) a couple of days after but it’s all good now.

Cordner wanted to play Round 10 before seeing video of the hit. Picture: Bradley Kanaris

“It’s not good missing footy games but at this time of year, with what’s coming up, it’s probably a good thing.”

Asked if he feared what the effects of concussion would have on him once he retired, Cordner said: “I try not to think about it too much because I’m not in that situation at the moment.

“But it is a delicate situation when it’s anything to do with your head. It’s a pretty frustrating injury too because you’re body’s able, it’s not like a soft tissue or anything.

“At the same time you’ve got to sit back and think it’s pretty serious stuff, you don’t want to mess around with it.”

LISTEN! The Panthers have gone from bad to worse, Mitchell Pearce has the Knights firing and Matty also pays tribute to Bob Hawke and Quentin Pongia. As always he is joined by Kenty and Finchy for rugby league’s best podcast.

Cordner will again lead NSW this year as they attempt to secure back-to-back series wins.

And the Blues are seriously considering picking Broncos giant Payne Haas as a bolter in their 17-man squad.

“If you have a look at his numbers and the impact he’s having on the game, it’s hard to not say that he’s one of the in-form players of the competition, definitely forward-wise,” Cordner said.

“To see the amount of first grade games he’s played (nine), it’s pretty phenomenal what he’s done so far.

“He’s showing every bit of his worth. He’s putting his name up and I reckon he’s up to that standard for sure with what he’s shown.”

NSW announce their team on Sunday evening.