I wish and hope that Ponga was checked for HIA to ensure his future.
Actually starting to think that all players that played in NRL games should be assessed after full time to ensure their well being, no test then they should be assessed as failing HIA test.
Note:- I have no idea how long that tests take and if physically it could be accomplished but player welfare should be front and centre. I’m sure that some players are slipping under the radar.
Should.
But, it requires players to take some responsibility for their wellbeing too. 167 podcast, Papenhauzen made a comment once that he got a headache after a head knock that wasn’t caught on camera/no HIA. He went to the medical team and told them and they sat him out. He took some responsibility.
We know the Eli Katoa incident. Blind Freddy sees him knocked out. I think this incident highlights there’s still a lot we need to do to empower players to own up to head knocks. But, it’s part of the ingrained “toughness” of players to push through and not let their teammates down, I get that. I was hopeful that this would serve as a catalyst for change in that regard - your team will be fine, but will your family be okay if something happens?
In this instance it requires Ponga to say, yeh, I feel a bit off after the contact. I think the footage lends itself to a cat 2 - he looks a little stunned.
I don’t think his quotes specifically relate to concussion, eg. I thought it was 10 in the bin. I think he’s more painting a picture of the chaos and extenuating circumstances and his thoughts that it was a head clash and accidental and was therefore confused that he’d been sent.
Even Koula. Deemed a category 2. He gets assessed by the trainer at the time for a while. Category 2 - goes off for assessment. Post match Koula comes out and says he was knocked out. I’m no expert on the immediate aftermath if there’s an element of confusion. Like when my wife wakes me up because I’m snoring, and I refuse the allegations
“No way!”. And maybe there was a delay in having the information passed through to commentary.
In terms of NSW gamesmanship, it makes a lot of sense, IF he was indeed knocked out, for the trainer/medical to call it that at the time - help ensure it’s a send off. But for them to do the assessments with him lying on the ground for so long - category 2, we are gonna assess him. Something doesn’t add up for me.
)
cause I will be on a plane to Bali but think I will get over missing it live pretty quick as I have a bintang or 3 watching the replay 
