weststigers4life
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http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-injury-to-simon-dwyer-supports-call-for-player-pay-raise/story-e6frexnr-1226528450155
Simon Dwyer pictured at his home yesterday. Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: The Daily Telegraph
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SIMON Dwyer doesn't blame rugby league for what happened to him - but he is adamant his predicament is why NRL players have a right to be fighting for a bigger cut of the $1.15 billion TV deal.
Seventeen months ago, the Wests Tigers back-rower was being touted as a future State of Origin star.
Then he attempted a tackle on Canterbury prop Michael Hodgson and Dwyer's life changed forever.
With the ARLC refusing to meet player demands for a salary cap increase to $6.5 million, as well as better entitlements for injured players, the now 23-year-old yesterday gave the game's administrators an insight into the dangers players face every time they run out.
"It will always be a highlight in my life," he said. "I'm glad I did do it, I'm glad I did play.
"But you look at some of the others sports out there and they are paid much more.
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"Many of our guys are paid nothing compared to them and there are a lot more injuries in our sport.
"As you know, it can be taken away pretty quickly."
Dwyer recalled the tackle in July last year when his head hit Hodgson's hip: "I couldn't feel anything from my neck down. It was pretty scary.
"All I could feel was the talking in my head. I couldn't feel anything else, just this voice in my head saying 'what the hell is wrong'.
"(The feeling) gradually came back but then I couldn't feel the arm at all. I thought, 'that's not right'.
"I was on the ground for 30 seconds maybe. I thought I was frozen"
At first they thought Dwyer's injury was nothing too serious but he later found out he had suffered a rare brachial plexus nerve injury in his neck.
He still can't bend his right arm and is realistic enough to know that he will probably never play for the Tigers again.Yet it doesn't stop him turning up at the gym almost every day to train with his former teammates in hope of a miracle.
"I pretty much do legs and shoulder (weights) because they say the muscles have a crossover action," he said.
"So it could spark the nerve on the other side.
"The nerve grows an inch a month. It has to grow from my neck to the end of my fingers. That is why it takes so long."
Asked if he thinks the players are within their rights to be fighting for more money, Dwyer said: "There has to be some increase, especially for what some of the lower-paid players out there are getting.
"We are the ones providing the entertainment. We are the ones taking all the risk, getting all the injuries.
"We are the ones out there doing it, doing the hard yards.
"A lot of people used to come up and say you play footy for work, it is easy.
"They don't realise we train six hours a day every day and when you get home all you feel like doing is sleeping because you are too tired to do anything else.
"And then you get injuries. Nearly every NRL player is playing with an injury."
According to NRL welfare officer Nigel Vagana, the average career of an NRL player is 43 games. Dwyer played just 35.
Dwyer is still employed at the Tigers until the end of 2014 and he said the club has been very supportive.
"I had two more years left on my contract and we came to an agreement that I would work for the Tigers for a certain amount of money," he said.
"It worked out pretty good for me."
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_
Simon Dwyer pictured at his home yesterday. Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: The Daily Telegraph
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SIMON Dwyer doesn't blame rugby league for what happened to him - but he is adamant his predicament is why NRL players have a right to be fighting for a bigger cut of the $1.15 billion TV deal.
Seventeen months ago, the Wests Tigers back-rower was being touted as a future State of Origin star.
Then he attempted a tackle on Canterbury prop Michael Hodgson and Dwyer's life changed forever.
With the ARLC refusing to meet player demands for a salary cap increase to $6.5 million, as well as better entitlements for injured players, the now 23-year-old yesterday gave the game's administrators an insight into the dangers players face every time they run out.
"It will always be a highlight in my life," he said. "I'm glad I did do it, I'm glad I did play.
"But you look at some of the others sports out there and they are paid much more.
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"Many of our guys are paid nothing compared to them and there are a lot more injuries in our sport.
"As you know, it can be taken away pretty quickly."
Dwyer recalled the tackle in July last year when his head hit Hodgson's hip: "I couldn't feel anything from my neck down. It was pretty scary.
"All I could feel was the talking in my head. I couldn't feel anything else, just this voice in my head saying 'what the hell is wrong'.
"(The feeling) gradually came back but then I couldn't feel the arm at all. I thought, 'that's not right'.
"I was on the ground for 30 seconds maybe. I thought I was frozen"
At first they thought Dwyer's injury was nothing too serious but he later found out he had suffered a rare brachial plexus nerve injury in his neck.
He still can't bend his right arm and is realistic enough to know that he will probably never play for the Tigers again.Yet it doesn't stop him turning up at the gym almost every day to train with his former teammates in hope of a miracle.
"I pretty much do legs and shoulder (weights) because they say the muscles have a crossover action," he said.
"So it could spark the nerve on the other side.
"The nerve grows an inch a month. It has to grow from my neck to the end of my fingers. That is why it takes so long."
Asked if he thinks the players are within their rights to be fighting for more money, Dwyer said: "There has to be some increase, especially for what some of the lower-paid players out there are getting.
"We are the ones providing the entertainment. We are the ones taking all the risk, getting all the injuries.
"We are the ones out there doing it, doing the hard yards.
"A lot of people used to come up and say you play footy for work, it is easy.
"They don't realise we train six hours a day every day and when you get home all you feel like doing is sleeping because you are too tired to do anything else.
"And then you get injuries. Nearly every NRL player is playing with an injury."
According to NRL welfare officer Nigel Vagana, the average career of an NRL player is 43 games. Dwyer played just 35.
Dwyer is still employed at the Tigers until the end of 2014 and he said the club has been very supportive.
"I had two more years left on my contract and we came to an agreement that I would work for the Tigers for a certain amount of money," he said.
"It worked out pretty good for me."
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_Posted using RoarFEED 2012_
