NRL’s concussion revolution: Contact training limit on cards as league looks to NFL

Every NRL player will be under Big Brother-style supervision at every contact training session this year, with an army of medical staff and spotters to be used to detect possible brain injuries as rugby league’s concussion revolution gathers pace.

In the same week the Australian Institute of Sport recommended all adults and children in community or youth sport spend 21 days on the sideline after a concussion, the NRL has taken its strongest step yet in attempting to combat the brain injury threat during practice sessions.

The Australian Rugby League Commission is expected to decide later this year whether to implement an NFL-style mandate on the amount of time players can spend each week in contact training.

NFL players are only allowed to have padded practice 14 times during the regular season and a maximum of one per week during the play-offs.

While there is no such limit for NRL players yet, the code has stepped up its efforts to monitor concussion away from the bright lights of games with updated protocols during training.

Each club will be required to film every contact training session they conduct throughout the 2024 season, with footage to be used to analyse any potential concussion risks during training.

Paramatta’s Mitchell Moses after a serious concussion.Credit: Getty Images

The club’s football staff must also log with the NRL how long players spend doing physical contact each week and the duration of team sessions.

The data will be used to shape the ARLC’s view on whether it needs to make a policy on contact training limits.

But the biggest shift will be requiring clubs to have more medical staff and concussion spotters on hand for each contact training session this year, putting more scrutiny on how coaches and sports science staff handle players between matches.

“The processes we’ve put in place are intended to replicate, as much as possible, our game day procedures in the training environment,” NRL head of football Graham Annesley said.

NFL players can only participate in 14 contact training sessions through the regular season.Credit: AP

“All clubs are required to comply and provide information that helps the NRL consider future policy based on data and best practice.

“Like all other major contact sports around the world, we have a responsibility to stay at the cutting edge of player safety and welfare.”

Roosters star Luke Keary has been an advocate for reducing the amount of time NRL players spend in contact sessions.

Earlier in his career the 31-year-old had significant lay-offs as he dealt with ongoing concussion symptoms, and he has emerged as one of the most respected voices on the issue in the game.

Any NRL player who is diagnosed with concussion stemming from either a game or training is not allowed to play a match for 11 days under rules brought in last year.

The family of former 1990s cult hero Kyle White revealed in December the former Bulldogs, Wests and Illawarra hardman had died with a severe case of CTE, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma.

White was just the fourth known top grade Australian rugby league player to be diagnosed with CTE.

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