The cynics thought the clause would be used to allow players to be cleared for State of Origin and finals matches if they suffered a head injury the week before. After one round of the season,players were running back out within a week after a concussion clearance.

This time,coaches and club doctors won’t have a choice.

State of Origin next week? Bad luck.

Must-win game to reach the finals? Too bad.

You can’t miss a grand final for that? Well,yes you can.

A few years ago,the NRL club doctor who has had to face the concussion crisis more than most,Roosters medico Dr Tom Longworth,published a study that found one in five players had admitted in an anonymous survey that they had hidden concussion symptoms from team officials in a bid to keep playing. They wanted to avoid letting their coaches and teammates down.

It should have sent alarm bells ringing inside NRL headquarters.

In what has been a captivating start to the 2023 season,several coaches used the opening roundto take aim at the NRL’s independent doctor and the allegedly over-cautious removal of their stars from the field for concussion tests. Winning,the saying goes,solves everything. It certainly keeps coaches employed.

But it won’t solve the concussion threat.

Next on the list should be a game-wide review of tackling techniques.

As coaches wrangle for ever-increasing control of the ruck,tacklers stand more upright in an attempt to catch and hold attackers,thereby allowing their defensive line more time to retreat and rest before the next play. The technique comes with the added risk of head clashes. Players who go low risk clattering into hips. Even when successful in the tackle,they are told to get off the ball-carrier quickly. Where’s the incentive?

This week,two separate class actions have been launched against the AFL by former players. The NRL knows every word spoken and written about its own handling of concussion is being monitored for when it faces its own lawsuit.

Meanwhile,a man not even in middle age can’t get his brain to work well enough to get a pay cheque or see his kids regularly because he played a collision sport for years.

If he knew then what he knows now,11 days might have made a difference.

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