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The NRL has today issued clubs with a notice that dictates they must change their nonchalant attitudes towards footballers receiving head trauma which results in their brains being so distressed that they turn off.
Early last season, the Gold Coast, St George Illawarra and Newcastle faced fines totalling $350,000 after being issued with breach notices for failing to follow the NRL’s concussion rules during round three, where several players, who weren’t even household names, were kept on the field despite being absolutely motherless after very obvious head knocks in the first few rounds.
The Titans were handed the heaviest sanction, $150,000, for incidents involving Kane Elgey, Joe Greenwood and Ryan Simpkins, while the Dragons and Knights have each been issued $100,000 fines.
The Dragons were cited for an incident involving Josh Dugan and the Knights sanctioned after Brendan Elliot sustained a head injury.
“These are, by far, the heaviest fines ever proposed by the game for concussion breaches,” NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said in a statement.
“We understand there has been backlash about our decision to take off Dugan, considering the fact that he has pretty much been carrying the Dragons this season, so that’s something we have to look at”
“Obviously, if a player is really good, even when he is concussed, it’s a pretty big ask to have the clubs take him off the field…”
“However, if it is a random young bloke or a 200-game-non-Origin-player… There are no excuses”
Greenberg said the NRL was committed to showing a duty of care to the players who probably weren’t going to be able to set themselves up off a football career”The three clubs have five business days to respond to the breach notices.
The three clubs had five business days to respond to the breach notices, with The Knights have asking if they could set up some sort of a SPER-style payment plan.
