Sydney Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary rattled after becoming face of concussion in rugby league

He was just the unfortunate bloke who got hit at the wrong time. But as his injury became the focal point of the debate around concussion in rugby league, Luke Keary was just trying to focus on getting back on the field.

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Sydney Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary has revealed becoming the ‘face’ of concussion in rugby league left him rattled in the lead-up to Friday night’s game against Wests Tigers.

Keary had been sidelined since round 11 after he suffered a serious head knock playing Newcastle. It was Keary’s fourth concussion in 15 months.

His layoff coincided with the revelation that researchers and clinicians from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital had discovered evidence of CTE, a brain degenerative disease, in two former NRL players.

A week after the study was released, two law firms announced a potential class action against the NRL over its protection of players from concussion.

This image of Keary has been seen a lot recently. Image: Brett Costello

“I was pretty nervous. I was a bit more nervous (on Friday) than I normally am. I expended a lot of energy during the week thinking about it. It was good to get through,” Keary said.

“It [the CTE study] threw a bit of a spanner … I was OK until the start of last week.

“But I was aware of all that stuff. The talk obviously drills it home a little bit more. But it’s a real issue in our game. It’s not the greatest being the face of it but it’s an issue we need to talk about.”

But Keary’s nerves on Friday night disappeared a lot quicker than he anticipated.

An unexpected short kick-off from the Tigers meant Keary, fittingly, was the first person to take the ball.

Rather than feed the ball to a bigger body, Keary decided to run the first hit-up of the night when he realised he’d be taking on Tigers halfback Benji Marshall and not a rampaging forward.

“I had to take that first kick-off so the nerves were gone straight away. I should have passed to Latrell [Mitchell] and we probably would have gone close to scoring if I passed it,” Keary said.

“But it was a short kick-off and I thought I might take one here … I was actually running at Benji.”

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Despite playing a key role in his side’s 24-16 victory over the Tigers at Bankwest Stadium, Keary admitted he was a “bit hesitant” with attacking opportunities in the first half.

After a slow start Keary finished the match with two-try assists and his combination with Latrell Mitchell on the left edge proved lethal.

Keary was focused on his return for the Roosters. Image: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

Keary also revealed the extent of Mitchell’s personal turmoil over being dropped from Brad Fittler’s NSW Blues outfit for games two and three of this year’s State of Origin series.

“It’s no secret what he went through, not being picked for the Blues. It’s hard to see someone you love get hurt like that.

“But the way he carried himself thought the whole thing, he hasn’t said a word, he’s trained harder than before, he hasn’t dropped his bundle or anything like that,” Keary said.

“It was good to see him do what he does on the field.”