Melbourne Storm boss says it’s time to consider making 18th man live

The NRL’s catastrophic injury toll has prompted Frank Ponissi to suggest the game needs to consider making the 18th man available.

Roosters’ Luke Keary was forced to leave the field during the match against Melbourne Storm at the SCG on Thursday night. Picture: Phil Hillyard

One of the game’s most respected officials has urged the NRL to consider introducing a live 18th man for the remainder of the season as injuries threaten to derail the Sydney Roosters’ premiership defence and wreak havoc with the remainder of the competition.

The Roosters could have more than half their salary cap on the sideline next Saturday night when they play Wests Tigers, with Lachlan Lam (ankle), Mitch Aubusson (wrist) and Luke Keary (broken rib) joining an all-star injury list following their loss to Melbourne on Thursday night.

Keary was rushed to hospital after taking a blow to the ribs before being released at 3am on Friday morning, but seems likely to miss at least a fortnight. Lam could be out for two months with syndesmosis. Aubusson has a suspected chipped bone in his wrist.

Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

The Storm reeled out of that game as well, winger Suli Vunivalu (fractured jaw) and halfback Jahrome Hughes (groin) expected to miss their next game against Parramatta on Thursday night. They are already without their two biggest stars in Cameron Munster (knee) and Cameron Smith (shoulder).

Just about every side in the NRL is suffering through one of the most remarkable seasons in the game’s history, with a combination of factors blamed for the ­immense injury toll.

The travel demands on some teams has played a part. Significantly two of the clubs that have been able to largely stay and play at home - Penrith and Parramatta - have been among the more fortunate when it comes to injuries.

Players had a shortened pre-season when they returned from the Covid break, the game has been quickened by rule changes and fatigue has become more of a factor.

Injuries have followed and Melbourne head of football Frank Ponissi is among those who ­believe the NRL needs to seriously consider immediate changes.

While the code has been reluctant to make rule alterations while the season is in full swing, there has been a precedent set this year.

When the code resumed after the Covid break, it did so with one referee and the new six-again rule in effect. That has accelerated the game and potentially contributed to the injury toll.

“The 18th player needs to become live for situations where players have been ruled out for the game, definitely for foul play,” said Ponissi, who also happens to be on the game’s workload committee.

“I think that is a no-brainer. Because of reluctance to send players off, that player stays on the field and the victim gets ruled out for the game. There is an ­injustice there.

“Usually I would be totally against changes mid-season. This is a season like no other. It is getting to the stage where we need to utilise that player.”

The NRL normally reviews its injury data at the end of the season with its injury expert, Sydney University Professor Donna O’Connor. However, it has been receiving weekly reports from clubs and the injury toll is causing consternation at every level of the game.

“Of course it is a concern when you are seeing an increase in ­injuries,” Rugby League Players Association chief executive Clint Newton said. “The biggest thing is when you’re working through these things, you need to make sure you are capturing data that is accurate and a true reflection.”

NRL head of football Graham Annesley is reluctant to overact despite statistics which appeared on social media on Friday suggesting there were 15 more players in the casualty ward compared to the same time last year.

Millions of dollars worth of talent is on the sidelines. That would not only be a concern to the NRL and the clubs, but also the broadcasters who pay millions to have the game’s elite pulling in viewers.

“We’re always concerned with injuries,” Annesley said. “We would prefer there were none.

I am not going to make ­conclusions about what may or may not be contributing to ­the injuries. There could be a number of factors including just plain accidents.”

It is understood the NRL has been told a number of injuries have happened at the start of games rather than the end, which would suggest fatigue isn’t ­necessarily a significant factor.

At the same time, the desire to have more fatigue in the game was one of the motives behind the rule changes. Whatever the reasons, for every action there is a reaction.

In the NRL’s case, the reaction would appear to be an increase in the number of injuries, with none feeling the pinch more than the Roosters as they head into the ­Tigers game sans Keary, Aubusson, Lam, Boyd Cordner, Angus Crichton, Victor Radley, Sam Verrills, Daniel Tupou, Brett Morris and potentially Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.