Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has welcomed the NRL’s new approach to ruling on head knocks, but says the system needs to “get better” after Billy Smith was controversially ruled out of the game.
The Roosters today were well beaten after going down to the Knights 20-6 at the SCG.
And while the Knights were worthy victors, life was made extra tough for the Roosters when both Victor Radley and Billy Smith were forced out of the match due to head knocks.
READ MORE: ‘Overwhelming’ act of kindness that floored AFL icon
READ MORE: ‘Smitten’ Kyrgios reveals he’s ‘come of age’
READ MORE: Rabbitohs’ NRL grand final nightmare relived
The NRL this season has introduced a remote bunker system where an independent doctor has the power to rule a player out of a match if a player is deemed to be showing concussion-like symptoms.
The independent doctor first intervened in the first half when Radley was forced out of the game after a head knock involving Knights playmaker Jake Clifford.
Radley’s head knock was clearly a concern for everyone watching, but the Roosters lock bizarrely remained out on the field for a further two minutes before the independent doctor in the bunker stepped in to remove him.
Speaking on the new system, Robinson said he was disappointed when Smith, who was forced to come off at the 53rd-minute of the second half, was forced to leave “without any symptoms”.
The Roosters coach revealed Smith had no chance of returning to the field due to the independent doctor making the ruling of a category one head knock.
“I think it’s a good idea [the new bunker system],” Robinson said after the match.
“He went straight to his neck, Billy (Smith) had no concussion. He didn’t even remember an incident until the doctor showed him.
“For them to go category one instead of category two, it was tough for us.
“You’ve got to give some faith to the [club] doctors to look at it as well.
“But I think the process is right with what they’re trying to put in. You’ve just got to be careful.”
“It’s frustrating in the moment [when Billy Smith was ruled category one], but I agree with what the NRL has gone to. They’ve made a call on how to get rid of the cheating in the system, which has been there and we can acknowledge was there.”
Robinson suggested there should be “consultation” in certain cases.
“They’ve gone to a better system, but they’ve got to also make sure they’re not pulling guys out of games without any symptoms at all,” he added.
“There needs to be some sort of consultation on that stuff.
“That’s not why we lost the game, we would’ve lost the game either way, but let’s get better at that system.”