Ok, I have read this entire thread and I really think this is way overblown.
The facts stated are:
The needle was for his sternum injury
The needle went in the calf
Fulton couldn't then walk
Let’s look at these statements:
The needle was for his sternum injury
This is in no doubt, we all saw the battering that Liam got against Manly
The needle went in the calf
This is the part I would debate, either the location was wrongly mentioned as the thigh might be the actual location (as pain killing injections are given here as there is more blood flow in the buttock/thigh region so uptake of the pain killer is faster).
Or
Fulton had a leg injury that we did not know about.
Fulton couldn't then walk
It is most likely Liam had a reaction to the pain killer, which does happen from time to time.
So,
Did something happen to Fulton before the game? Probably
Have similar things happened in recent years? Yes
But as several people have said people react to injections differently, so what might work for one may not work for another or may even have a negative effect.
Should Keith have gone back on last year after dislocating his knee? Probably not, but from my experience of dislocating my knee (and having it go straight back in) it hurts like hell, but it is hard to determine if there is any damage unless it is catastrophic (as the knee won't swell or have any visual or physical evidence until a scan is completed). So if Keith wanted to go back on (which I cannot say if he did or not, but most players do not want to just sit on the sidelines) and nothing could be detected through initial examination then there is a 50/50 call to be made. And in all honesty would you say no to Keith if he was fired up an wanted to get back out there if there was a possibility that there was nothing wrong?
As for Tim, Robbie and Liam, as I said before people can have different reactions to the exact same procedure/medication, it could simply be that these guys reacted differently to the injections than what everyone else does, or even that it was just a one off and they simply had a reaction on that specific day (it does happen).
Am I a medical specialist? No, but I have seen and experienced a hell of a lot through a member of my families health issues so I have seen similar things happen (just not in a sporting sense).
And though we don’t hear about it I am sure this happens at all clubs.
I am not saying that Dr. Kuah is not at fault but with the amount of sporting organisations that hire him and their opinion of him I would give him the benefit of the doubt in these situations.
And if the club wants to go with the line “Liam was ill all week” then it is their prerogative.
It was one loss to a team that has been playing well and handled the conditions better than we did.
So, let it go people, these things happen, there are still 22 rounds to be played and you cannot win or lose a premiership in the first month.
