A concerning trend where clubs are sneaking extra interchanges through the Head Injury Assessment system has been exposed. It’s led to finger pointing, filthy coaches and the NRL threatening “significant sanctions”.
The only people pissed off with this column will be the people in the game that realise as they read on that the spotlight is coming their way.
For the past few months, rugby league’s dark art of manipulating player concussions to obtain a free interchange has been whispered down phone lines.
Those whispers, mainly from NRL coaches who choose integrity over winning at all costs, have progressed into a roar.
Fingers are being pointed, complaints to the NRL are being made.
And it doesn’t take long to work out which clubs are being exposed by their peers for the dirty tactic of taking a perfectly fine player, albeit slightly tired from tackling, from the field for a Head Injury Assessment (HIA), in return for a fresh player and free exchange that doesn’t count towards the eight allowed interchanges.
Such is the level of flouting, teams have highlighted one club that finished matches consistently with 13 interchanges, five more than the permitted eight changes per game.
Clubs have been accused of exploiting a loophole in the HIA system to gain an extra interchange. (Image caption).
TRAINERS
On-field trainers in the NRL have never had more publicity than the last few days.
However, as the competition prepares for the finals, the performance of orange shirt trainers from all clubs is also under heavy scrutiny.
Of course, the spotlight isn’t on every highly-qualified, diligent, dedicated and hard-working club trainer that is currently working for an NRL club.
By-and-large, these upstanding professionals love the game and would never put the welfare of their player ahead of the scoreboard.
However, in a performance-based environment, in an industry worth millions of dollars to the premiership-winning team each year, it would be naive not to consider that some clubs push the threshold of the rules, more so than others.
Again, the only people that will find this column uncomfortable are those that know the game is onto them.
Not all trainers are being accused of dirty tactics.
The gauntlet being run by some clubs is in the safe space where they know the NRL can’t monitor; the communication lines between orange shirt trainer and the club doctor on the sidelines.
Ahead of the 2022 season, the NRL announced that the orange shirt trainer - recognised as a Level 2 sports trainer, with the role of being the first responder in a match — will be able to talk to the team doctor about any on-field medical issue.
The advancement in technology and communication was made to save the trainer from running from the field to discuss the problem with the doctor and then run back onto the field to remove the player from the game.
However, as a by-product, what has also emerged is an unexpected vacuum of uncertainty for the NRL.
What isn’t widely-known is that some clubs were against using the new communication lines if the NRL were listening in on the relay of information.
That shouldn’t immediately spark thoughts of anything sinister going on, rather that in a competitive environment, clubs are loath to unveil their most intimate inner-workings.
The NRL ultimately conceded their ability to play big brother, with trainer and club doctor communicating in their cone of silence.
The result of this process is that the doctor is now simply acting on the advice of the trainer. The trainer is in complete control of any on-field HIA.
It must be stated, the NRL aren’t concerned about the integrity of the doctors.
There is an unequivocal belief that the doctors will always put the interest of the patient ahead of the scoreboard.
In many ways, it’s the doctor’s care for the player that will almost always see them taken from the field for a HIA, even if precautionary, based simply on the recommendation of the orange shirt trainer.
Again, by-and-large, the majority of orange-shirt trainers would never push the envelope.
The suspected dirty tactics occur in the “safe space” between orange shirt trainer and the club doctor on the sidelines. (Image caption).
PATTERNS
Every player that is taken from the field for a HIA, whether it is initiated by the independent doctor in the bunker or whether it is by the club doctor, is reviewed by the NRL every Monday following the previous round.
The chief medical officer of the NRL looks at how many HIAs there were.
How long it takes for the player to come from the field following a head knock, whether it was a category one or two head knock, and whether it was identified by either the independent bunker doctor or the club doctor.
The NRL also looks at what minute of the game the HIA was called.
This focal point is of major discussion across the game with NRL coaches adamant that some clubs turn to a HIA for a free interchange to replace their middle forwards after the first 30 minutes of the match, or 20 minutes into the second half.
Once the review and audit is taken, and if the NRL can’t identify why a particular player was taken from the field for a HIA, the club will receive a letter requesting a full explanation surrounding the incident.
If the NRL can’t identify what a player was taken from the field for a HIA, the club will need to provide a full explanation.
MASSIVE FINES, LOSS OF COMPETITION POINTS
In August last year, the NRL threatened “significant sanctions” after concerns were raised regarding trainers forcing free HIA interchanges.
That edict explained that the NRL held concerns regarding a trend which has seen trainers take players for on-field HIAs, despite no identifiable head knock occurring.
After what we saw unfold this week, with a Penrith trainer being hit with a $50,000 fine and a five-game suspension for running in front of goal kick attempt, any club found to be manipulating HIAs would run the risk of a much larger fine and possible loss of competition points for unfairly using a safeguard measure to protect the welfare of players, to their advantage on the scoreboard.
It could even cost a team the premiership. (DT)
