'The end is coming': Wally calls for major NRL change

Rugby League Immortal Wally Lewis has implored NRL officials to install broader safeguards against concussion, calling for a blanket ban on contact and tackling for children and amateur players during training.

In his address to the National Press Club in Canberra, the man known as ‘The King’, now an ambassador for Dementia Australia, warned the code’s administrators the game was at risk of dying out if broader regulation of players’ health does not become a a priority.

Pressure is mounting on the NRL to deal with head trauma in the game as Lewis warned young players are turning away from contact sports “at an alarming rate” as the heroes of yesteryear reveal the personal toll they’ve had to bear as a result of the concussions they’ve suffered.

Lewis said amateur players should not engage in full body contact during training sessions and teaching children how to tackle safely should be top priority for clubs, including using soft pads during training.

Wally Lewis playing for the Maroons in 1990.

“If we love rugby league enough … our number one priority will be the health and wellbeing, the long-term effect and safety for players, and the game lasting,” Lewis said.

“If it’s being seen as too dangerous by the parents of the kids that possibly could play the game, then it’s a matter of time before it’s the end, the end is coming.

“You have got to take it to every level possible to be able to encourage people firstly to play, to encourage parents their kids are okay to be playing that sport.

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“It’s certainly a situation where the numbers in sport … contact sports, really do appear to be dropping at an alarming rate.”

As the NRL grapples with the deepening problem, the NFL has been dealing with the concussion issue for decades, with it’s latest CBA detailing several precautions taken to ensure player safety.

NFL players are only allowed to have padded practice 14 times during the regular season (which is 17 games long) and a maximum of one per week during the playoffs.

During training camp, which is akin to the NRL off-season program, players aren’t allowed to take part in contact drills on certain days.

It’s also been mandated that players don’t take part in practice twice a day, instead teams are able to conduct one full-contact padded practice per day, when permitted.

Ahead of the 2024 NRL season, the Australian code confirmed it was updating its protocols for training to align with their efforts to monitor concussion on game day.

Each club was told they would have to film every contact training session they conduct during the 2024 season, with the NRL’s concussion experts to analyse the vision to better alleviate risks during training.

The NRL has also asked clubs to log how long players spend doing physical contact each week, while requiring clubs to have more medical staff and concussion spotters for each contact training session.

It’s understood the move is to keep a more watchful eye over coaches and sports science staff, who monitor players between matches. All the data will be used to reshape the code’s policy on contact training limits.

The changes were brought in after a Senate inquiry last year called for sweeping legal reform to allow professional athletes to sue for brain injuries, acknowledging “clear evidence” of a link between CTE and head trauma.

Lewis, whose mercurial play earned him the moniker “The King” called for an $18 million funding boost ahead of the federal budget, to fund a pilot program to support people living with CTE.

The League great said his mental condition has impacted every aspect of his existence.

“Imagine a life where the tapestry of memories that define your very essence begins to unravel,” he said.

“I am living with the constant fear and anxiety that I’ll let people down. This is my reality and the reality for all those living with dementia.

“One thing we do know is that CTE is the only form of dementia that is preventable, and we only get one brain.”

Under the current rules, any NRL player diagnosed with concussion from either a game or training is not allowed to play a game for 11 days.

Later this year, the Australian Rugby League Commission will make a decision on implementing an NFL-style mandate on the amount of contact training players can do.