Wally Lewis celebrates an Ashes win in 1988.Credit: NRL Photos
Rugby league legend Wally Lewis has savaged critics of the NRL’s move to reduce the risk of concussion, while issuing a plea for players to prioritise tackling technique over brute force.
Speaking on his battle with “probable” chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the Immortal becomes especially passionate when asked how he responds to pundits questioning rule adjustments designed to protect players.
Among the changes reportedly under consideration for the 2025 season include removing the kick-off or penalising teams for kicking too deep.
Some are adamant the ferocity of the first carry is why people love the code. Lindsay Collins was knocked out in the Roosters’ preliminary final defeat, but the Queensland enforcer has vowed to keep doing what he does for as long as it is allowed.
Others have voiced their frustrations at players being removed for head injury assessments when they might not be experiencing concussion.
But Lewis says the naysayers are being short-sighted.
“There are players who don’t like the game being tinkered with, and will say it’s going to get a bit too soft,” Lewis tells this masthead.
“They’re entitled to their opinion, but let’s see if they come up with a similar response if they’re suffering the same consequences, if they’re the ones being affected by the difficulty and embarrassment of not having a good memory, and being almost too shy to go into public places.
“Some who have become well known have embarrassment, and they can’t feel comfortable getting out and presenting themselves in public.
“I know it cost me – I was reading the news at Channel Nine and there were times I’d just get an instruction through the ear-piece. The boss would say ‘I’d drop the next story and go to the one after that’, but as I was reading the story I’d have no idea what he just said.
“Those who are very critical of it – put them in the same position.”
Father’s sledge inspires quest for change
For Lewis, each day becomes a battle to retain his short-term memory, forced to repeat himself while forgetting even the simplest conversations.
But he still recalls the first words his father spoke to him after his victorious Kangaroos debut.
Lewis believes teams and individuals also need to return to one of the basics: technique.
Wally Lewis showed no thoughts of self-preservation during his celebrated playing career, but it has come at a cost.Credit: NRL Photos
“Whilst there are a lot of guys who probably think the number one priority is to prove how tough they are, it’s imperative that due care be taken in the fear of having some serious brain issues dictate your life,” Lewis says.
“It controls everything, your immediate future and your memory. The one thing my dad used to put into effect in the backyard every afternoon was ‘put the head in the right f—ing spot – don’t be a dickhead or you knock yourself out’.
“I still remember when I got to play my first game for Australia. I said, ‘Are you happy with that, dad?’
“He said, ‘I would have been, but you put your head in the wrong spot in about four or five tackles’. I thought, that will do me, then he smiled and said ‘I’m proud’.
“When I watch footy games now, I’ll pick up every time they put their head in the wrong spot. We’ve got to keep going back to the plan of teaching players how to tackle right from the grassroots levels.”
Phone call from PM keeps fight alive
Lewis took his push to parliament this year, when he called on the federal government to provide $18 million for CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) education, awareness and support services.
What happened next shook even a man regarded as one of his code’s most fearless figures: a call from the prime minister.
“I’ve got to say, I had a lump in my throat after that,” Lewis says.
“I said to him something like, I realise you’ve probably got to react in a time like this, and he said, ‘Why shouldn’t we? We’ve got to react, and it’s time we did, and we’re about to do so’.
“I broke both arms. I had a broken jaw. I’m sitting here looking down at the knee I’ve just had surgery on. But I can’t get a new brain.”
Wally Lewis
“I felt very comfortable with the discussion. We’re not about to say what’s about to take place, but things have been put in plan yet to go into motion that’s virtually around the corner.”
But change will take more than money.
There have been moves for a cultural shift in codes such as rugby union, with World Rugby trialling community competitions imposing a tackle height from the sternum or below.
Since the NRL introduced the role of independent doctor – tasked with identifying concussion symptoms from afar – there have been complaints players are being taken off when it isn’t necessary.
But the University of Queensland concussion researcher Dr Stephen Townsend says it may still be necessary in the long term, given the prolonged impact of brain trauma might not emerge until later in life.
Townsend seeks to dispel the myth this is a recent issue, and says a “conservative” culture is behind the reluctance to make changes.
“Sport is notoriously conservative, it doesn’t want to change, particularly these really lucrative contact sports,” he says.
“They certainly care about athlete welfare, but they also care a lot about the maintenance of their sport. We’ve had these crises before, but they’ve been suppressed by their sports to continue unchanged.
“For us to see change in terms of reduced concussions, and increased athlete welfare, it will require substantial changes in the policies we see looking after concussion.
“Some changes will be expensive and result in fundamental changes to the sport, and they will take time.”
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