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Concussion (Merged Threads)


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I recall an incident in a SL match some years back where a player was put in hospital with a late, high tackle. Brian Carney said at the time it was totally avoidable and that the offending player getting off without even a suspension was wrong.  
I couldn’t believe it either so wrote to the RFL saying RL has to hit offenders with stiff punishments to deter it or RL will soon get sued out of existence.

They never replied and nothing seemed to change. RL should have already made drastic changes to the way the modern game is played because it is the reason this sort of thing is happening to Bobby Goulding and to others. The apathy of those in charge makes them culpable. 

My blog: https://rugbyl.blogspot.co.nz/

It takes wisdom to know when a discussion has run its course.

It takes reasonableness to end that discussion. 

 

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6 minutes ago, unapologetic pedant said:

A parent`s response to reading this story might well be to prevent their son or daughter playing RL.

The child could then live a sedentary miserable existence, develop type 2 diabetes, and die of a heart attack in their forties. 

Come the time, will the lawyers go after the Daily Mail?

 

There are other activities.

You only get one body. We’ve all seen players play on when injured - and if you say you haven’t then you’ve never watched a game - including those who’ve taken a hit to the head and shaken it off.

I suspect this will legally come to nothing but given that we are at the bare bones of medical cover - games in the WSL postponed because there aren’t enough volunteers - and we have a very casual attitude to punishing contact with the head, I’d say that we absolutely need to change things and make sure that message is understood.

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

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1 minute ago, RayCee said:

I recall an incident in a SL match some years back where a player was put in hospital with a late, high tackle. Brian Carney said at the time it was totally avoidable and that the offending player getting off without even a suspension was wrong.  
I couldn’t believe it either so wrote to the RFL saying RL has to hit offenders with stiff punishments to deter it or RL will soon get sued out of existence.

They never replied and nothing seemed to change. RL should have already made drastic changes to the way the modern game is played because it is the reason this sort of thing is happening to Bobby Goulding and to others. The apathy of those in charge makes them culpable. 

The apathy of those in charge of the game seems to be supported by a fair number of people who watch the game.

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

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Terribly sad about Goulding. He was a fine player.

There really is something repulsive about the Daily Mail. Again we see a negative article like this on the back page when the sport can go days or weeks without a mention and doesn't even get a Rugby League tab on the Daily Mail website.

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27 minutes ago, Saint 1 said:

Then why do you want them to do it anyway? I'm not being obtuse, I genuinely don't understand.

I only put out that because I thought that the use of some protection is better than none.

Your response has prompted me to check and I see that I was wrong and that as you point out they could in fact be more of a danger. My Bad.

 

 

Ron Banks

Midlands Hurricanes and Barrow

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Predictable 'deflection' by RL supporters by bashing the Daily Fail

How about the BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/59045827 instead?

We've got to start taking this more seriously than 'well, what do you expect from the Mail?' and 'what about all the people who played for years and are perfectly healthy?'

Stevie Ward anyone?

Sooner or later one of these lawsuits is going to stick, and it will open a floodgate that will bankrupt the game as well as ensure that no parent EVER let's his kids take up the sport

There's going to need to be a total rethink about 'contact sports' (and yet it applies to the other unmentionable code as well)

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4 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

There are other activities.

Most of which will involve some risk. Cricketers have been fatally injured. Soccer players heading the ball or accidentally clashing heads. Skinny joggers have suddenly dropped dead.

Every time we get in a car...

There`s only so far we can go to minimize the risk of injury that comes with doing anything.

14 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

 and we have a very casual attitude to punishing contact with the head, I’d say that we absolutely need to change things and make sure that message is understood.

However strict we are with contact to the head of the ball-carrier, it won`t deal with the matter of contact to the head of tacklers.

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23 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

There are other activities.

You only get one body. We’ve all seen players play on when injured - and if you say you haven’t then you’ve never watched a game - including those who’ve taken a hit to the head and shaken it off.

I suspect this will legally come to nothing but given that we are at the bare bones of medical cover - games in the WSL postponed because there aren’t enough volunteers - and we have a very casual attitude to punishing contact with the head, I’d say that we absolutely need to change things and make sure that message is understood.

In saying that this might not come to anything, there are another 9, along with Bobby, making the claims.   SRL are reporting that "The allegations are that the RFL failed in its duty of care to protect them from the risks associated with concussions and sub-concussions."  https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/bobbie-goulding-reveals-battle-against-demetia-44743/

 

 

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10 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

Predictable 'deflection' by RL supporters by bashing the Daily Fail

How about the BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/59045827 instead?

We've got to start taking this more seriously than 'well, what do you expect from the Mail?' and 'what about all the people who played for years and are perfectly healthy?'

Stevie Ward anyone?

Sooner or later one of these lawsuits is going to stick, and it will open a floodgate that will bankrupt the game as well as ensure that no parent EVER let's his kids take up the sport

There's going to need to be a total rethink about 'contact sports' (and yet it applies to the other unmentionable code as well)

Correct - This has been brewing for a while and will not be going away any time soon

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5 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

Predictable 'deflection' by RL supporters by bashing the Daily Fail

We've got to start taking this more seriously than 'well, what do you expect from the Mail?' and 'what about all the people who played for years and are perfectly healthy?'

There's going to need to be a total rethink about 'contact sports' (and yet it applies to the other unmentionable code as well)

When you`ve had a serious think, let us know your conclusions.

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The trouble is many bad concussions are purely accidental and quite often are caused by teammates clashing heads when making a tackle. Forcing players to tackle lower will very likely result in more accident head clashes. Yes head high tackles could and should be more severely punished but its impossible to mitigate against every head clash.

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I put his together just over two years ago. It is a radical point of view in some ways but the consequences of doing nothing will harm players and ultimately the sport itself.

https://rugbyl.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-future-of-contact-sport.html

My blog: https://rugbyl.blogspot.co.nz/

It takes wisdom to know when a discussion has run its course.

It takes reasonableness to end that discussion. 

 

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2 minutes ago, Damien said:

The trouble is many bad concussions are purely accidental and quite often are caused by teammates clashing heads when making a tackle. Forcing players to tackle lower will very likely result in more accident head clashes. Yes head high tackles could and should be more severely punished but its impossible to mitigate against every head clash.

Those friendly-fire head clashes behind the ball-carrier are shockers.

It would limit the risk generally if line-speed wasn`t deemed so important and defenders didn`t fly into the tackle. This was another unforeseen (by our administrators) consequence of moving to a 10m offside line.

 

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35 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

Predictable 'deflection' by RL supporters by bashing the Daily Fail

 

Nah you can hold two thoughts at the same time without one undermining the other.

This is a tragedy.

The sport desperately needs to address it and show strong leadership. 

And the Daily Mail is a destructive parody of a newspaper whose toxic BS and lazy ignorance needs to be called out when seen.

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It's very sad for those affected and of course the game should seek to protect the players on the field as best they can. However, it is a full contact sport and as such getting knocks to the head are unavoidable no matter what rules are brought in. Its not uncommon for instance for bad head clashes to occur between team mates making a tackle.

The players know these risks when they take up the game and are not forced to be RL players against their will.

I think there are other more avoidable issues with player welfare to address first. Such as players taking the field with cortisone injections to numb already injured areas of the body. These are entirely in the control of clubs and the game's management. The "patch him up and get him back out there" mentality still exists within the game.

I’m not prejudiced, I hate everybody equally

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10 hours ago, LlanWests said:

Well it was quoted by Richard Boardman last year that RL players were suing the game. More RU players are suing the IRB, RFU and WRU though. 

With players getting bigger, faster, stronger, for a collision sport, the effects of impacts on the body will only get worse. The collisions in RU for instance are now like mini car crashes. Steve Thompson cannot remember a minute of the 2003 RUWC final. In RL the collisions are even more frequent. More collisions equals more concussions.

The “improvement” in physique has only made collision based games more dangerous to play, and harder for an individual to stand out. The increase in physicality is accompanied with a greater emphasis on defence. The result of this is attacking play gets shut down much quicker than previous, hence there hasn’t been a household name in either code for donkey’s years. Absolutely no chance does an Offiah or a Campese get the platform to do what they did in today’s era. It’s harder to make eye catching plays, and it’s more dangerous to play.

Both codes are inflicting this on themselves. 

Contrast this with football where there’s far less heading during a game (passing style dominates), heading in training has been minimised at pro level (no heading routines like Geoff Hurst spending 10 minutes just heading a ball hanging from the ceiling) and removed at junior level, and the balls are much lighter today than the heavy balls of yesteryear (even heavier when they soaked up water). Add in greater protection from referees today than previous it has made football safer to play, allowing individuals to stand out even more than they did before. George Best today, playing on carpet like surfaces, ball played much more on the ground, and referees penalising any infringements they previously didn’t (no Ron “chopper” Harris or Tommy “Anfield Iron” Smith being able to take him out), he’d have a field day and would have been even more eye catching than he was. Probably wouldn’t have had to retire at 27 either.

The aim for a sport should be about making it better.

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I wonder how the female gender,who didn't play any sport,account for their higher numbers of diagnosis?

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/blog/why-dementia-different-women#:~:text=Facts about women and dementia,in women than in men.

     No reserves,but resilience,persistence and determination are omnipotent.                       

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It will ultimately go down the route of players signing disclaimers to play professional RL. Either that or the game won't survive.

I think there was an interesting court case in Australia with a Newcastle player who lost his legal battle over head knocks with the NRL.

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1 minute ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

Part of the problem with this issue of brain injuries, is that if 49 year old Bobbie Goulding told 18 year old Bobbie Goulding that playing pro rugby would mean he was diagnosed with dementia by the time he was 50, what do we think 18 year old Bobbie Goulding would have said?

Seven year old Bobbie Goulding wanted to be a professional RL player, like his dad. So I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that one.

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9 minutes ago, Angelic Cynic said:

I wonder how the female gender,who didn't play any sport,account for their higher numbers of diagnosis?

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/blog/why-dementia-different-women#:~:text=Facts about women and dementia,in women than in men.

Irrelevant though. No-one is arguing that sport, or blows to the head are the only causes of dementia. Alzheimers has quite a strong link with Diabetes and poor diet, for example.

Likewise, no-one is arguing that risk can be removed from everything. I know somebody who died while out jogging - not due a to a heart attack, but because there was a fallen high voltage line from an electricity pylon.

However, that doesn't remove the duty of care from RL administrators to do what they can to make the game safer. And even if you take the legal aspect away, there's still the issue of parents not wanting their kids to play, and fewer and fewer adults playing. 

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21 minutes ago, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

Part of the problem with this issue of brain injuries, is that if 49 year old Bobbie Goulding told 18 year old Bobbie Goulding that playing pro rugby would mean he was diagnosed with dementia by the time he was 50, what do we think 18 year old Bobbie Goulding would have said?

This is a very good point. It's not possible for an 18 year old to have the foresight to know how they would view their choices when they are older.

Take Garry Schofield and his changing stance. Journalist Jon Davidson shared an old article he wrote about concussion which quotes Schofield being critical of the idea of taking legal action because players know the risks. Compare that to his recent comments regarding his health issues. His perspective has changed due to current circumstances.

Comments from current players on tackles making contact with the head suggest a large number think the game is being too strict and that they know the risks. It's possibly they will hold that view until they suffer a health issue that someone says may have been caused by playing rugby. Then hindsight kicks in and they look on their last career differently and what matters most isn't the enjoyment they got from playing but the impact it has on the rest of their lives.

Ultimately if you're young and reckless and doing something you love you will take the risks without thinking of the realities of what it may mean in the future. If that then leads to health issues in later life there's a strong possibility you will regret it, or at the very least owed some compensation for the risks taken.

I can't blame any of these players taking legal action. Health care can be expensive even with NHS care. If there's a chance you can get some compensation that makes living with a health problem easier I think most people would take that chance. Whether they would play RL and do it all over again exactly the same doesn't come into it.

What the sport needs to decide is whether they want players to continue taking these risks and simply sign a waiver, or if they want to do as much as possible to minimise the risks knowing players may suffer later in life and have a different view of the risks they were taking in hindsight.

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