When referee Ashley Klein pointed Joseph Suaalii up the Accor Stadium tunnel last Wednesday night, there were many fans imploring Suaalii to keep walking, all the way to Waratahs HQ in Daceyville. That will happen soon enough; Suaalii’s long-anticipated, much-publicised shift to rugby union finally comes to fruition at the end of this season. But should the many fans and media quick to pillory Suaalii for ‘ruining’ a State of Origin match, and/or being an overpaid turncoat, actually be thanking him? The game doesn’t know it yet, but in one moment of misguided madness – a rush of blood from a debutant overeager to show he belonged at the highest level – it’s possible that Suaalii has done more to advance player safety, and future-proof the longevity of the sport, than any other rugby league player.
When it comes to player safety, none of the three major contact football codes in Australia have a record they can be proud of. For years, all of them have hidden behind the Concussion in Sport Group’s stonewalling around the links between concussion and CTE. Its head, Australian Associate Professor Paul McCrory has been exposed for plagiarism and is reportedly under criminal investigation for perjury and fraud.
More League Ex-Leeds Rhinos captain, Stevie Ward, who retired after suffering multiple concussions, told The Times in April, “McCrory has played puppet master with our lives.” Stephen Casper, author of soon to be released book ‘Concussed: Telling the Hi.
