ARLC boss Peter V’landys insists the “right process” was followed in assessing Isaah Yeo for a possible concussion in the opening State of Origin match, despite also saying it’s “quite obvious” he should have come from the field.
Yeo copped a head knock in the opening tackle of Wednesday’s match, and appeared to stumble as he made his way back into the defensive line.
He was assessed on the field by the New South Wales trainer, while the independent doctor in the Bunker reviewed all available angles of the incident.
READ MORE: Disgraced stars hit with bans as golf war explodes
READ MORE: NBA star’s family fumes over fans’ ‘shameful’ act
READ MORE: ‘Predictable’ Blues ‘too Pantherised’ says Gus
Maroons star Cameron Munster said on Thursday that watching Yeo stumble made him “sick.”
Yeo insisted after the match that he wasn’t concussed.
When asked by Radio 2GB’s Ben Fordham whether or not Yeo should have been taken from the field, V’landys left no doubt about what should have happened.
“Yes, I think he should have come off,” he said.
“We’ve got an independent doctor in the Bunker, they make the judgement. I’m not a doctor, but he immediately let the trainer know on the field, the trainer did do an assessment and he believed he didn’t need to come off.
https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/peter-vlandys-believes-isaah-yeo-shouldve-been-sen/embed
“Looking at the vision it’s quite obvious he should have come off.”
While V’landys feels that Yeo should have come from the field, he also defended the process that allowed the Blues lock to play on. The independent doctor ruled Yeo was a “category three” which requires an additional check from the trainer.
“We introduced this this year, putting an independent doctor in the Bunker to make these decisions,” he explained.
“They followed the correct processes, they immediately let the trainer know, the trainer did an assessment, they assessed him again at half-time and he showed no symptoms.
“The doctor in the Bunker may know better than (us) but on the vision, it certainly appeared he should have come off.”
The ARLC boss noted that the independent doctor had access to vision that wasn’t broadcast, and pointed out that the game has made great strides in recent years in combatting concussion.
“They’ve got all the different angles from all the cameras, they will see it much quicker than what you can see live,” V’landys said.
“We’re very serious about concussion, and the welfare of the players. Our actions have shown that, we don’t tolerate hits to the head.
“The welfare of the player is paramount to us.
“The right process was followed. Having this person in the Bunker, we were able to notify the referee and the trainer to ensure that he was assessed.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by CLICKING HERE!