2025 Pacific Championships

It really was unacceptable negligence yet i have not heard of any action taken to the people who allowed it.
It’s the players’ fault. The NRL has made it clear to the clubs on multiple occasions that they do not have multiple cameras on them when they are warming up and thus the doctor and bunker are not on duty. The onus to report a head knock during a warm up is on the club. Given players often warm up without many of the coaching staff it is important for the players to self report in these instances which didn’t happen here. Had Katoa self reported he wouldn’t have been allowed to play, or if he was allowed to play, he would have been ruled out after the first head knock during the game (his second head knock of the day).
 
It’s the players’ fault. The NRL has made it clear to the clubs on multiple occasions that they do not have multiple cameras on them when they are warming up and thus the doctor and bunker are not on duty. The onus to report a head knock during a warm up is on the club. Given players often warm up without many of the coaching staff it is important for the players to self report in these instances which didn’t happen here. Had Katoa self reported he wouldn’t have been allowed to play, or if he was allowed to play, he would have been ruled out after the first head knock during the game (his second head knock of the day).
Not sure that position will age well.
 
It’s the players’ fault. The NRL has made it clear to the clubs on multiple occasions that they do not have multiple cameras on them when they are warming up and thus the doctor and bunker are not on duty. The onus to report a head knock during a warm up is on the club. Given players often warm up without many of the coaching staff it is important for the players to self report in these instances which didn’t happen here. Had Katoa self reported he wouldn’t have been allowed to play, or if he was allowed to play, he would have been ruled out after the first head knock during the game (his second head knock of the day).
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Say less!!

Idiot!
 
Straight from someone who works in that department at the NRL. If anyone gets in trouble it will be someone from the team.
The legal system won't share that blinkered arse-covering perspective with "someone who works in that department at the NRL" when it inevtitably undergoes litigation!

Victim blaming concussed players for not self-reporting is a ludicrous and weak justification to limit organisational liability for a likely career-ending and entirely preventable tragedy!

The training staff attended him on the ground FFS - it was not missed!

Wake up to yourself!
 
The legal system won't share that blinkered arse-covering perspective with "someone who works in that department at the NRL" when it inevtitably undergoes litigation!

Victim blaming concussed players for not self-reporting is a ludicrous and weak justification to limit organisational liability for a likely career-ending and entirely preventable tragedy!

The training staff attended him on the ground FFS - it was not missed!

Wake up to yourself!
Exactly my point. If the training staff attended to him on the ground then shouldn’t they have reported it? Why was he allowed to play. Katoa didn’t report it either. If the bunker and doctor only operate during the game, how were they meant to know what happened during the warm up. Katoa and / or the training staff should have followed protocol and reported it.
 
Exactly my point. If the training staff attended to him on the ground then shouldn’t they have reported it? Why was he allowed to play. Katoa didn’t report it either. If the bunker and doctor only operate during the game, how were they meant to know what happened during the warm up. Katoa and / or the training staff should have followed protocol and reported it.
Did any staff actually see it.
When they attended him did he still have symptoms and was a hia conducted.
These are 2 questions I haven’t seen answers to.
I’ve never seen a player not want to play on after a head knock
Makes you wonder if there’s any of his teammates that now think they should of piped up and said something
 
The fact is, the policy that is in place that is advised by the NRL to the clubs every year is that the bunker, the doctor and the HIA are only responsible for reviewing head knocks that occur during a game. The protocols within that policy advise for training sessions, warm ups, or any other incidences, the onus is on the individual, other players (as witnesses), coaches, training staff, or someone from the club / team to report a head knock. You cannot expect the NRL to be monitoring every training session and every warm up of every club with cameras and a doctor throughout an NRL season. It’s entirely impractical and not done by any sports league in the world as far as I am aware. Hence the policy that is in place.

In this case there were plenty of people who knew of Kotoa’s first head knock from the Tongan team and nobody came forward to report it. Perhaps Tonga needing to win and Katoa being a star player had something to do with it (of course it did). The Tonga set up chose winning over safety, contrary to what the policy / protocols required, and that’s why the NRL will be ok and someone (or multiple people) from the Tongan set up will cop the blame for this.
 
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