Graham: Don’t trust players or coaches with concussion

Former rugby league harden James Graham and Gordon Tallis have backed in the NRL’s independent doctor. Graham adding the threat of legal action looms.

Newcastle captain Kalyn Ponga was removed by the independent doctor from the game between the Knights and New Zealand Warriors on Friday night NRL Photos

NRL great James Graham says players and coaches can’t be trusted when it comes to concussion assessments and supports the game’s initiative to have an independent doctor.

Veteran coaches Wayne Bennett and Ricky Stuart both ripped the NRL’s independent doctor system on the weekend. Stuart said the NRL “don’t trust coaches” but Graham said independent assessments were the only way to protect the players.

“To Ricky’s point, perhaps the coaches can’t be trusted,” Graham said on Triple M’s Sunday Sin Bin. “I am not questioning Ricky’s care for his players here and I understand and I agree with what he says; ‘do you think I’d let a player go out there concussed?’ No (I don’t think Ricky would let them play concussed) but you know what? The players can’t be trusted. The coaches can’t be trusted and the clubs can’t.”

Graham, who is the host of The Australian’s chart-topping podcast investigation into concussion, pointed out the potential legal threat looming for Australia’s collision sports.

Last week it was announced that the AFL could be taken to the Victorian Supreme Court within weeks. A Melbourne law firm has registered its intent to bring a class action against it.

Principal Michel Margalit said she was inundated by calls from former AFL players who had suffered head injuries after she announced the intent of a class action. Former players Shane Tuck and Danny Frawley, who both took their own lives, were found to be suffering from CTE, a degenerative brain disease linked to repetitive head knocks.

There is a class action against the Rugby Football League in the UK in which nearly 100 players are alleging the league was negligent and failed to protect them.

Former Sharks and Roosters halfback Paul Green had stage three CTE, while Souths great Mario Fenech has also been diagnosed with probable CTE.

“This is the game going, ‘we can’t afford a lawsuit because now we know what we know’,” Graham said. “We’ve got to take the emotion out of the hands of the clubs and the coaches and the club doctors that know all the emotion of the game.”

Tallis, also a Sunday Sin Bin host, threw his support behind the independent doctor.

“You’ve got to save the players from themselves,” Tallis said. “Leave it in the doctor’s hands.”

In a statement, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said he would not comment on Bennett or Stuart’s observations about the independent doctor.

“We will not take a backward step on player safety,” Abdo said. “I am frustrated by some of the commentary during matches, where it appears the system is not well understood.

“We have a responsibility to monitor all potential head-injury events during matches. The club doctors do so on the field and the independent doctor does so from the bunker. They are a team.

“Either can initiate the removal of a player from the field to be assessed. A player being assessed is not a diagnosis for concussion. There are several indicators that require a player to be removed from the field to be assessed.

“There are a number of factors that are considered here. We have improved the communication and speed of this process with the use of technology.”

Leading neurologist Dr Rowena Mobbs, who has led the care of Fenech, said she applauded the NRL for its insistence on using an independent doctor.

“If a player is knocked out, has a convulsion, stumbles, is slow to get up, confused, or slow to respond, then the diagnosis is concussion and they should exit,” Dr Mobb said.

“All of this can be gained from a video replay on the other side of the world. If a player shows none of these signs but tests poorly or tells the coaching staff they have symptoms of concussion, they should go off. But concussion is only half the story and they must go further.”

“There will always be grey areas if a player gets delayed symptoms after the HIA 15 minutes minimum but the system is trying to be as cautious as possible, and I applaud the current NRL leadership in this endeavour. “

Dr Mobbs rebuked the NRL for the submission to the Senate inquiry into concussion last week when it was clear the code leaders refused to accept the most recent scientific evidence that - used the Bradford Hill criteria which was used to link smoking to lung cancer - proved a link between the brain disease and repetitive head injuries.

“The NRL should no longer ­ignore the elephant in the room – CTE due to subconcussions – otherwise parents will walk,” Dr Mobbs said.

“When have we heard the NRL support their own players or families with suspected and diagnosed CTE? Sadly, there was not a single mention of the acronym “CTE” in their submission to the Senate Inquiry this week, and instead of admitting that CTE is caused by repeated head injuries or suggesting measures to limit it they spoke about a tentative link only. They are doing a disservice to their own sport.”