Raiders ironman Ryan Sutton believes the NRL must refine its fledgling 18th man policy to further strengthen the league's approach to dealing with concussion.
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The new rule, introduced before the start of round five earlier this month, requires NRL coaches to add an 18th man to their team. The 18th man can be called upon should three players on his side fail a head injury assessment.
Coaches are also allowed to introduce their 18th man if one of their players is ruled out for the game due to foul play, but only when the perpetrator is sin-binned or sent off.
No team has had to activate their 18th man in the two rounds since the rule was introduced.
"It's never going to get used because the chance of that happening are very slim to none," Sutton said.
"There's got to be a little review behind it and a little process to what goes through it, it can't just happen with a click of the fingers, there's got to be a process towards it.
"The NRL, I think they'll resolve it as quick as they can because having the 18th man on the bench at the minute who's not being used, it's not needed."
The Raiders lost winger Bailey Simonsson to concussion in Saturday's 35-10 loss to Parramatta, after he failed an HIA following a head knock.
Had two more players gone down with head knocks and failed their HIAs, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart would have been able to introduce his 18th man Sebastian Kris.
Instead he was forced to drastically rejig his side to cover for Simonsson, deploying Elliott Whitehead to centre and Curtis Scott out to the wing.
"I've had my fair share, they're not a nice thing, especially if you don't remember things," Sutton said.
"It's what the game's coming to at the minute, we're trying to speed up the game, there is going to be more injury, especially to the head.
"You're putting your body on the line for longer because the ball's staying in play for a lot longer as well."
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The NRL's concussion protocols came under scrutiny again over the weekend when Melbourne duo Cameron Munster and Harry Grant received head knocks, but didn't leave the field for an HIA.
"We play a physical game at the end of the day. We've got hardly any protection, we put our body on the line, we're very competitive as players, we don't want to go off the field," Sutton said.
"You can ask any player when they're in a concussion state or whether they've had a head knock, they don't want to go off the field. The medical staff and the doctors are taking the right precautions at the minute, I think it's a 15 minute review which is good."
Sutton has been named at lock in place of Joseph Tapine for Saturday's crunch clash against the in-form North Queensland Cowboys. The Raiders travel to Townsville on Thursday.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
