Sione Mata'utia re-signs with the Knights

Kurriboy

Kurriboy

Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Reading the Robert Dillon article

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/4986792/robert-dillon-sporting-declaration/

He raises a thought that with Sione finding himself in concussion trouble, missing WC etc due to it, Wests having said they are concerned about concussion legal issues, and Sione's contract being negotiated with Wests at the helm, we may see Sione not offered a contract at all!

Given Newcastle currently being sued by Macmanus for previous concussions and the club didn't handle the properly, we now have Sione travelling the same path. Repeated concussions, now being held out of consecutive games, ruled out of the world cup etc. Next year if he suffers another concussion early on what then? How long will he miss?

And if he does his further concussion trouble, come contract time the Knights may view him as a future legal risk and avoid renewing his contract at all.

Just food for thought.
 
Took the article seriously for about 3 seconds until I saw the ****** who wrote it.
 
Regardless of the source it's a valid concern, Sione's health and quality of life post-footy have to come first.

He's achieved a lot so far and if managed appropriately (perhaps that involves a shift into the backline or bench), unfortunately some careers get cut before their time.

If it comes down to a legal standoff and liability issue, that might be the end of it.
 
Sione is contracted for 2018 at least. So next season, if he gets another 4 or 5 concussions like he did this year, then there's a good chance Wests will be hugely concerned & rightly so. Regardless, the article is merely just throwing up a possibility due to Wests not wanting anything to do with McManus, it doesn't say anything about their opinion on Sione. The title of the thread is a bit inflammatory Kurriboy, I was expecting an article saying Wests were considering not re-signing him.
 
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Boxing worked out what needs to be done for repeated concussion 50 years ago.
You can make a full recovery from a minor concussion in a week or two, but if you get another knock before the first one is fully healed, it takes longer to get over, and if you get another knock on top of that, it starts to take months instead of weeks.
If you get knocked out in boxing you have to take a break, and if you come back and get knocked out again, it's months you have to take off.
They are making sure he doesn't get another head knock for 6 months or so, and he will make a complete recovery in that time, and be at no more risk than any other player.
I have wanted to see clubs to this properly for year. Ben Cross was a classic example. By the time that guy got knocked out for the 4th or 5th time, I think you could have knocked him out by looking at him funny, and if he'd have taken a decent break after the 2nd time he would have had another 3 or 4 years in the NRL.
 
Billy said:
Boxing worked out what needs to be done for repeated concussion 50 years ago.
You can make a full recovery from a minor concussion in a week or two, but if you get another knock before the first one is fully healed, it takes longer to get over, and if you get another knock on top of that, it starts to take months instead of weeks.
If you get knocked out in boxing you have to take a break, and if you come back and get knocked out again, it's months you have to take off.
They are making sure he doesn't get another head knock for 6 months or so, and he will make a complete recovery in that time, and be at no more risk than any other player.
I have wanted to see clubs to this properly for year. Ben Cross was a classic example. By the time that guy got knocked out for the 4th or 5th time, I think you could have knocked him out by looking at him funny, and if he'd have taken a decent break after the 2nd time he would have had another 3 or 4 years in the NRL.
Click to expand...

Well said Billy
 
It has been a similar scenario for Bernard Foley for the Wallabies as well...he was delayed for several months until he was cleared to play and that was almost a week by week assessment of his status, where he was cleared at the start of a week but became marginally symptomatic during the week and had to sit out again - very frustrating for all involved but he has been back now for several games at the elite levels and doesn't appear to be at risk of re-occurrence from minor or innocuous knocks like Sione has been.

I hope that scenario plays out the same for Sione.
 
Hardly an inflammatory title. Given the content of the article it certainly suggests Wests may not sign him. It doesn't say that exactly but that vibe is there.

And I wasn't writing the topic title quoting from the article, it is a topic for discussion to have something to talk about on a forum. My opinion is that if he goes through next year sustaining concussions as he did last year, they may consider him too much of a risk to resign. Given Mcmanus's court case against the Knights, and the fact that it is against the Knights, maybe Wests won't want to take the risk.

Other clubs don't appear to be treating it very seriously, specifically the Broncos with Corey Oates who sustained probably the most heavy contact I can ever recall on the field, and no doubt concussed, played the next week.

Wests are a very sharp operation, I wouldn't put it past them to decide not to sign the player citing the concern for his future and let him become another clubs problem.
 
Kurriboy said:
And I wasn't writing the topic title quoting from the article, it is a topic for discussion to have something to talk about on a forum.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, it's certainly something that deserves a discussion. Just starting the thread with the article & title like that, I think a few people wouldn't bother reading the article & assume that sources have come out saying Wests plan to not re-sign Sione. At this stage, only a suggestion by a journalist connecting the dots that Wests are keen to stay away from the concussion issue.
 
The issue is that there's still so much unknown about concussion and what recovery is required. If any player is still symptomatic after a concussion then they absolute cannot play until they are. From all reports Sione had no symptoms the week after his knock, so really the club is just being extremely cautious in continuing to rest him
 
It is quite worrying the amount of times it seemed to happen this year. Makes you wonder how many more would have to occur in order for the club and Sione to stop and go “look this is getting a bit too much”. We don’t really know how bad it may be. Sitting out the World Cup weeks after it happened is a bit iffy but like they say it may just be precautionary.
 
Another point is to try and pinpoint what the underlying cause or contributing factors are to him getting concussed so often.

If it's something obvious such as poor tackling technique that can be worked on.
 
Seen Sione get his head the wrong side of the body when tackling an opponent but one would think with so many different coaches at a Club, this would have been worked on before now.

It was shocking the donkeys were allowed to play Oates a week after that terrible head knock. if it had been us, we would have been fined again, but as per usual Uncle Benny and the other big three just do what they wish and Turdburg stands on the sidelines doing and saying nothing.
 
That Hawkins bloke is bog average. Satini has looked pretty good from what I've seen. Both are a downgrade on Pete though.
 
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