It’s fair to say that the Newcastle Knights have had an interrupted off-season away from the footy field.
It started with a big win. In late November, the club confirmed that they had secured the signature of one of the most exciting young prospects in the game – Kalyn Ponga from the North Queensland Cowboys on a four-year deal beginning in 2018.
Unfortunately, the other incidents have not been as positive.
In January, Jarrod Mullen tested positive to an anabolic steroid and now faces up to four years banned from rugby league, essentially leaving his playing career hanging by a thread. Add this to the departure of Korbin Sims to the Broncos and the serious car accident which has sidelined Pauli Pauli for an indefinite period, and it has been a tough time for the club.
But things just got tougher.
The latest news to come out of the Steel City involves James McManus, who has announced he is taking legal action against the Knights over the way the club handled his concussions during his playing career.
McManus played his entire career at the Knights. This is a career that was cut short in July 2015 after he suffered another concussion in a game against the Rabbitohs. After coming off the field in the Round 20 loss, McManus never returned and announced his retirement from the game on medical grounds last year.
He has subsequently been diagnosed with ‘minor brain damage’ and ‘scarring on the brain’ and during his retirement has suffered from headaches and mood swings.
This case has the potential to be a game changer in Australian sport and not just financially. It’s the first time a major sporting body has been sued over its handling of concussion by a former player. Should McManus succeed, it could result in as much as a seven-figure payout to him and have further ramifications for other players.
It will be interesting to see to what extent the Australian courts take notice of precedent from the United States, particularly since the handling of concussions is something that the NFL has recently been grappling with.
Following a recent concussion settlement which involved more than 4,500 retired NFL players, the NFL will be in a position to begin paying out almost $US1-billion to former players.
I want to stress that the McManus case is different from what has been happening in the US. The case mentioned above and the subsequent payments made available are because of the NFL’s cover-up of the impact and risk associated with serious head injuries. This ‘cover-up’ is markedly different to the approach that the NRL has taken in regard to player safety in recent years.
We can look at the concussion policy to start with. According to the NRL’s injury surveillance report in 2016, there has been an increase in head-injury assessments from 210 in 2015 to 276 in 2016. In 2015, 54 per cent of players were allowed back on the field, compared to 66 per cent in 276.
I want to credit the NRL for increasing the strength of its concussion protocols in 2015 which has not only increased the number of assessments, but resulted in more players not returning to the field. The strict protocols are not just about protecting our players, but also about penalising any player or official who decides to break the rules.
The current policy requires team doctors to make sure that any player showing any sign of concussion is taken off the field. To return to the field, the player must pass a clinical check and should that player show any sign of loss of consciousness, falling to the ground without taking protective action, seizure, memory impairment or balance disturbance, they will not return to the field.
Concussion is not the only space I can point to where changes have been made. Banning lifting players into a dangerous position, the shoulder charge – and even the biff – demonstrates to me that player safety comes first and that we can still have an exciting and thrilling product without placing our players in any unnecessary danger.
At this stage, I want to credit both McManus and the Knights who are behaving like grown-ups.
This could have got ugly particularly considering that McManus has a job at the Knights in a corporate role. But so far, Knights chairman Brian McGuigan has said that the club respects McManus and his decision to sue and will defend the way the club handled his concussions, citing the role of club doctors and medical experts in determining whether a player is fit to return to the field.
From McManus’s perspective, I certainly sympathise with his position, particularly since he has said that part of the reason he is doing this is to protect other players and helping to educate them on the risks associated with head knocks on the field.
This is part of the reason that a strong Rugby League Players Association is vital to the success of our game and the welfare of our athletes going forward. Congratulations to Ian Prendergast and his team at the RLPA for coming out strongly in support of McManus, pushing the NRL to continue to remain vigilant in this space and continuing to push for research to work out the impact that concussion can have on players both during and after their playing careers.
At all times, our main priority must be the protection of the men and women that represent our clubs and country when playing football.
At the very least, this case should result in the NRL taking another look at its concussion protocols – are the current protocols the right approach and can we, as a sport be doing more to protect our athletes? Anything that leads to further discussions about how our players can be safe on and off the field is certainly a development that I welcome.
For McManus’s sake, I truly hope that this legal battle does not go the same way as it did in the US. The case was long, traumatic and drawn out and while it resulted in players being compensated, in the case of serious head injuries, there are no winners.
The case is due to commence in the Supreme Court next month with a directions hearing.
One thing is for sure – the legal eagles in Australia won’t be the only ones keeping a very firm eye on this case.
Watch this space.
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