Quote ="Sebasteeno"Kelly seemed to get a lot of head knocks this year - does he need to wear a scrum cap i wonder or is the game just getting way too soft? I know player wellfair is paramount but every game seems to have at least one these days sometimes more and its very often the playmakers who seem to be getting clattered - This was never the case even just a few years ago and is turning me off rugby league rapidly. I can only see it getting worse too'"
On the contrary playmakers have always taken punishment. It was certainly the case in the pre video days when really late hits often went unpunished as the ref was following play. Indeed there were players who were (in)famous for their cheap foul play, there could be a whole thread devoted to them. Couple that with the rudimentary medical treatment of a cold sponge and smelling salts and its a miracle that we didn't see more tragedies.
On to the present day its always a worry when players get serial concussions. The treatment and care is thankfully much better but as the Heffernan case shows, even with all the precautions in place sheer bad luck is going to shorten some careers. I'm not sure much more can be done, there are always going to be accidental concussions even if foul play is wiped out entirely. It's the price you pay for a contact sport.
