NSWRL have been issued a formal warning by the NRL after an investigation into a HIA on Boyd Cordner found the Blues captain should not have cleared concussion protocols.
In a statement released on Friday afternoon the NRL said the 28-year-old Cordner should not have been allowed to return to the field in the State of Origin opener after copping another troubling head knock.
Seen stumbling to his feet in the 18th minute before he was guided to the sideline, Cordner then passed the SCAT assessment administered by the NSWRL medic, Dr Nathan Gibbs, in the dressing room at Adelaide Oval.
He returned to the field to play an additional 48 minutes in the 18-14 loss to Queensland.
However, the NRL determined that since Cordner showed signs of motor incoordination it was a category one injury and he should have been immediately ruled out, regardless of the results of the SCAT assessment.
The NRL said it had considered the subjective nature of classifying symptoms and acknowledged the professionalism of all medical staff involved.
“In our view Boyd should not have been allowed to return to the field,” NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said.
“Our chief medical officer spoke directly with both NSW and Queensland medical staff prior to Wednesday night’s game and reminded them of our high expectations in this area.”
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
The Blues have previously insisted Dr Gibbs followed NRL concussion protocols and Cordner passed all tests to return to the field. They have strongly denied putting the player at risk.
“We respect that the NRL had an obligation to raise the issue and we responded,” said NSWRL boss Dave Trodden in response to the NRL’s determination.
“We are comfortable with how it has been dealt with by our staff and how it was dealt with by the NRL.
“As far as we are concerned the matter has now concluded.”
The NRL’s verdict comes after Cordner ruled himself out of the final two games of the Origin series to focus on his health and recovery following the head knock.
There are growing concerns for the Sydney Roosters captain who has suffered multiple concussions and spent seven games sidelined this season as a precaution.
One of those was a five-week break following a head knock at training, from which he had ongoing concussion symptoms.
Emcie
Roar Guru
.......it took you over a day to come up with that?
Plastered Plasterer
Guest
In the words of The Bandit ( The legendary Burt Reynolds ). Do the letters F. O. mean anything to you ?
edward
Guest
Do you think they were ignorant of Cordners medical history - Bizarre. Another warning - the NRL cant say they are following worlds best practice unless they actually follow their own guidelines. Words are one thing - action is another. Like the Friend head knock story today and Kefusi in last 10 minutes of Grand Final who was staggering about - people have short memories for a reason.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Doctor “What’s wrong Mr. Carney?” Todd “I have a wee problem”.
Adam
Roar Guru
He'd order a urine test time and time again...
Adam
Roar Guru
Mate, I'm married. So I can definitely handle being questioned on a sports opinion website.... :laughing:
Emcie
Roar Guru
Mate, if you can't handle one person calling you a clown I don't think the internet is the place for you. We get it, you really really like Joey, but I'm sure he doesn't need you white knighting on his behalf. I would have assumed that an inebriated plasterer would be aware of how often ones intelligence can be questioned in general society, but if you're not it is one of the most benign insults a footy player can expect to recieve. I'm not sure it's really a hill worth dying on...
Plastered Plasterer
Guest
Listen fuuckhead. The fact that they have piled on in criticism of my comment, when I have in no way offered criticism towards them , is my reasoning for referring to them as peanuts ,,, Now go and tend to your twitter account, or whatever it is people with no lives do.
Plastered Plasterer
Guest
No ball rolling on my part . So you agree with the implication that Andrew John is Of low intelligence ?
Monorchid
Roar Rookie
Good points. No arguments mushi.
mushi
Roar Guru
Clearly he got it "wrong" as Cordner has post concussion symptoms, but doctors aren't infallible. That's why they have insurance and there are review boards. They're saying, from the various reports, he didn't follow the protocol. The issue is there are multiple parts to the determination and somehow they convinced themselves Cordner wasn't visibly lacking coordination after the hit. The test results should have been irrelevant once he showed clear signs on the field. They've found this in the NFL from time to time as well where a doctor gives the all clear on the test but should not have put them back out. Part of it is the experience I think as they have experience in primarily getting concussed players back in the game. The protocols are a departure from what his focus has been for 3 decades. It's that the team doctors haven't historically played a great role in protecting players vs results that the protocol had to be designed. To get a warning on this feels pointless, it means in an important game doctors are back in the result vs person conflict which we created the protocol to avoid.
mushi
Roar Guru
Didn't Andrew Johns tell us himself not to listen to what he says during the horse racing farce? The irony that others are peanuts for the crime of disagreeing with you about whether we can effectively refer to someone else we disagree with as a peanut is lost on you I presume.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Blame Abdo. They ‘appreciate the subjective nature ‘..surely they can black and whiten this up particularly as in this case as ‘ataxia’’ was enabled to be interpreted as possible ‘ataxia’. The NRL have medical officers and concussion spotters employed at the ground but for some nutty reason they weren’t in a position to intervene. Stronger protocols, which were as written followed, wouldn’t have resulted in this mess.
Emcie
Roar Guru
Come off it mate, coming on a sports opinion site and suggesting that you can't have an opinion on something if you haven't played for Australia was never going to go down well.
Rob
Guest
That’s how it works. If you don’t like what someone has to say you get personal. A lot of Pro/Gurus don’t like to be questioned. You will notice it’s when they know they aren’t so right they go the personal insult. Unfortunately for you I think you may have started the ball rolling. I agree with John Allen’s original comment.
Rob
Guest
The NswRL does what it likes. Crack down here blind eye there. Change the rules on the run.
Rob
Guest
LOL. It’s interesting they made the official warning after Munster got hurt.
Wayne Turner
Guest
NRL = No Real Leadership. A penalty,when it's not a penalty. A verbal warning - What a waste of time.
mushi
Roar Guru
The abdo comment seems a red herring. The qualified aspect would be the medical officers involved. The findings are based on Gibbs and NSW not following the procedure laid out. The obvious part being highlighted in the article that he clearly lost motor coordination, this can be assessed without being on the spot for the SCAT test. The experienced angle cuts both ways, yes it means he has a wealth of knowledge. It also means he has put players back onto the field with concussion more times than probably any other current doctor.
Succhi
Roar Rookie
Does Nathan Gibbs get access to Cordner’s past assessments and medical history? Or is a decision made on that day and the test of that day only? I don’t know - just asking.