Kalyn Ponga discussion

Billy said:
Article in the Herald says Ponga had 5 HIAs in his first 4 years, 5 HIAs last year, and sat out the last 6 games to avoid another, and 2 HIAs in 2 games this year.
Put that on a graph and it would look like one for interest rates.
Click to expand...

Im not concerned with hia. Those are irrelevant. Coaches take players off for hia to grab free interchanges, not in KP's case though.

But more importantly im interested in actual concussions he has suffered.
 
Last edited:
EASBay17 said:
yeah the whole process is not right though. the frustration is the fact a hia test takes what 2-3 minutes, you can pass it after 3 minutes and be made to sit and watch the clock for another 12 minutes. if you pass your hia why is there a wait? a dr in the bunker taking someone off who can return immediatly after a hia is fine. a dr behind a screen rubbing someone out for nearly 20% of the game is what rubs people the wrong way when its proven to not be a concussion.
If there is a geniune reason for the 15 minute wait im not aware of it, does anyone know?
Click to expand...
With concussions, there are times when more serious concussion can occur with time, hence the period off the field to ensure that doesn’t happen.
It is a safety measure.
 
danknights said:
Out of desperation sure. But actual 1v1 tackles he has the worst tackle technique ive seen in a long time. Reminds me of under 12s of just get the body in front. To say he is a good defender is pretty laughable if I'm honest.
Click to expand...
That's one of the biggest issues for him....seems like he was never taught how to tackle effectively from a young age. I think he is 'tough', in the sense that he is all in but that attempted tackle on the weekend against a big man, was just ridiculous and was effectively asking for what happened to him.

I started footy as a 6 year old at a big club in Sydney (Guildford Leagues) and the first thing I was taught, before I ever got to pass a footy was tackling technique - where to target on the body for different types of tackles (front on, side on, etc.), where to position your head, how to use your shoulder and your arms to put somebody on the ground without hurting yourself and we had tackling drills straight after laps and before we even started to do ball work and understand positional play. I was a pretty scrawny, wirey kid as youngster but I never got myself in the wrong position in a tackle and was always capable of dropping much bigger kids than me because I was taught the fundamentals from the start.

I know it sounds like a 'back in my day' story but part of the worry in today's era for me is that kids are not learning some of these basic skills and the muscle memory that goes with it in building sound tackling techniques until they are much older (if at all)... and when they get opportunities at a rep level, usually more on their attacking flare, many are also bigger kids who could usually hide flawed defensive ability because their size allows them to physically overpower an opposition player without being technically sound.

Anyway.....you're right Dan - Ponga has ticker but he has absolutely no idea of how to tackle effectively, without leaving himself open to what happened on the weekend and at least that is something the club can work on to help limit his exposure to head knocks
 
IMO I think KP is lacking confidence, he ain’t exactly a punch drunk boxer(yet) he hasn’t been getting Ko’d many people don’t know the difference between Concussion and Ko. Is KP going to be our Billy Beane?
 
11 day stand down before being able to resume full contact training.

Was the NRL talking or thinking about banning full contact training sessions as another way of preventing concussions?

I believe it was reported many concussions that occur in training are never reported.
 
Still_Nutty said:
I started footy as a 6 year old at a big club in Sydney (Guildford Leagues) and the first thing I was taught, before I ever got to pass a footy was tackling technique - where to target on the body for different types of tackles (front on, side on, etc.), where to position your head, how to use your shoulder and your arms to put somebody on the ground without hurting yourself and we had tackling drills straight after laps and before we even started to do ball work and understand positional play. I was a pretty scrawny, wirey kid as youngster but I never got myself in the wrong position in a tackle and was always capable of dropping much bigger kids than me because I was taught the fundamentals from the start.

I know it sounds like a 'back in my day' story but part of the worry in today's era for me is that kids are not learning some of these basic skills and the muscle memory that goes with it in building sound tackling techniques until they are much older (if at all)... and when they get opportunities at a rep level, usually more on their attacking flare, many are also bigger kids who could usually hide flawed defensive ability because their size allows them to physically overpower an opposition player without being technically sound.

Anyway.....you're right Dan - Ponga has ticker but he has absolutely no idea of how to tackle effectively, without leaving himself open to what happened on the weekend and at least that is something the club can work on to help limit his exposure to head knocks
Click to expand...
This is all true, but it's worth pointing out that there's a big difference between the NRL and the amateur comps most of us do/did play. Players are so much bigger and faster, decisions need to be made much quicker, contact is much harder - and guys have much better lateral mobility, much better late footwork before the line etc.

There isn't a full solution from education or practicing technique that will result in players never being caught with their head in the wrong position. Mostly the technique at the NRL level is really good, it's just that incidents are inevitable.

That said, Ponga's technique certainly isn't "really good". Just look back at his debut for us, where he made a try saver on Uate by essentially executing a flying headbutt... (
) Safe to say that's not coached! It's a bit stunning to think how far this conversation has come in just 5 years, that we would have a very different reaction to a 'tackle' like that being made today
 
slotmachine said:
A lot of the CTE research coming out of the NFL is around the dangers of cumulative head trauma below the level of concussion. Can imagine that could be an issue in NRL/training also
Click to expand...

how is head trauma measured below the level of concussion? does this mean players who have never suffered a concussion are still showing signs of brain injury?
 
EASBay17 said:
how is head trauma measured below the level of concussion? does this mean players who have never suffered a concussion are still showing signs of brain injury?
Click to expand...
Technically - concussion is a commonly mis-used medical term that people use to describe severe brain injury. Concussion actually means the brain has come into contact with the skull and not been cushioned by the cerebrospinal fluid that usually keeps it protected.
Anyway - head trauma is head trauma - some minor, some major. If a doctor says it's a concussion injury, he means whatever happened to your head had enough force for your brain to bounce around in your head and hit the skull.
 
EASBay17 said:
how is head trauma measured below the level of concussion? does this mean players who have never suffered a concussion are still showing signs of brain injury?
Click to expand...
Go listen to Tim tszyu speak. He is a good example of brain injury in the slight form. Let's wait 15 years and hopefully he does an interview somewhere to compare it.
 
Billy said:
Technically - concussion is a commonly mis-used medical term that people use to describe severe brain injury. Concussion actually means the brain has come into contact with the skull and not been cushioned by the cerebrospinal fluid that usually keeps it protected.
Anyway - head trauma is head trauma - some minor, some major. If a doctor says it's a concussion injury, he means whatever happened to your head had enough force for your brain to bounce around in your head and hit the skull.
Click to expand...
If you want to get technical, that's not correct. A concussion is any event that causes a temporary alteration in the function of the brain. That can happen even without the brain contacting the skull, or might not happen even when the brain does contact the skull.
 
MontyBrogan said:
If you want to get technical, that's not correct. A concussion is any event that causes a temporary alteration in the function of the brain. That can happen even without the brain contacting the skull, or might not happen even when the brain does contact the skull.
Click to expand...
Not true. Concussion is literally a latin based word that means coming into contact with something hard. Traumatic Brain injuries can and do happen without that contact with the skull, but that isn't technically concussion, although for all intents and purposes, it doesn't make a difference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top