NRL legend Mark Geyer set to have a brain examination and wants to other players who suffered concussion to be tested for potential trauma

James Hooper
The Sunday Telegraph
March 15, 2014
 

The NRL has this week confronted one of the most serious issues in professional sport after ex-Australian forward Ian Roberts detailed his fears of brain damage on Channel Seven last Sunday.

Roberts, one of the toughest players of his generation, claims concussions suffered during his 194-NRL match career have left him suffering black outs and memory lapses.

The serious health-issue comes at the same time as a class action from ex-NFL players in the US has led to a lawsuit claiming damages in excess of $760 million.

Geyer, who famously stood toe-to-toe with Queensland captain Wally Lewis in State of Origin, wants to use his profile as a member of Triple M’s Grill Team to raise awareness about concussion.

While he does not believe has suffered any negative health affects from his multiple concussions, he still believes he should could get checked out.

“It’s one of those things where what was once a badge of honour to go back on the field after a concussion and gloat about it at the club afterwards, it’s now become a case of the total opposite,” Geyer said.

“It can affect people’s lives. We used to laugh at boxers who would take six months off after getting knocked out. It’s a bit like cigarettes. It took us a while for the penny to drop on how bad smoking was for you.

I don’t want money or compensation or anything like that, I just want to help raise awareness if I can. There’s nothing worse than seeing someone who looks like they’re punch drunk. Mark Geyer

 

“Over my 15 year career, I reckon I was probably knocked out, one big one, at least once a season.

“I found as I got older, each time it didn’t necessarily always take that much of a hit.

“The last time I got knocked out by Nathan Long at Penrith I remember watching the replay and thinking ‘look at that, I look like a wimp’. It was only a glancing blow. But it’s the cumulative effect.

“I don’t think I was knocked out as much as Ian Roberts but after watching his story last week, it got me thinking. It took a lot of courage to do what he did last week. That’s been the theme of his life.

“I don’t want money or compensation or anything like that, I just want to help raise awareness if I can. There’s nothing worse than seeing someone who looks like they’re punch drunk.

“I want peace of mind. I want to know the sport I’ve loved for so long and the sport I’ve loved forever hasn’t done any permanent damage to me.

“I’ve got five kids and my wife to think about. I can’t say I’ve had any lapses or brain fades, but I can say it scared the life out of me seeing Ian Roberts in that state.

It’s one of those things where what was once a badge of honour to go back on the field after a concussion and gloat about it at the club afterwards, it’s now become a case of the total opposite Mark Geyer

 

“Most blokes who played with and against him would have felt the same way. If I can help raise awareness about how important this issue is, then great.

“If I need to be aware of anything, I want to know. I’m not saying our sport is dangerous or kids should stop playing it.

“But at the same time we need to be aware of what’s happening in the NFL at the moment. Blokes are suffering from depression and committing suicide partly due to the fact they’ve had their brains fried.

“I don’t want our sport to go down that road or get anywhere near that. I haven’t noticed any irregularities but I’m 45, I don’t know if I forget things sometimes because I’m getting older.”

The champion Penrith 1991 grand final hero will travel to Melbourne on Tuesday to meet with Deakin University doctor Alan Pearce, the same medical expert who conducted a series of tests on Roberts.

 

The NRL has introduced much stricter rules around concussion this season, with players assessed by an independent doctor and made to pass cognitive testing before being allowed to return to the field of play.

Pearce had a concussion paper published in the Journal of Neurotrauma last year after working on research with 40 ex-professional and amateur AFL players.

“It looked at the effects of concussion on a range of abilities. Movement, mental functioning and we also used a technique called brain stimulation to have a look at the integrity of the nerve within the brain,” Pearce said.

“We then compared them to healthy people the same age who’d never been concussed. What we found was that the football players had less excitability in their brains from our technique and that sort of affected their fine movement and their reaction time.

 

“The other aspect of it was that we had two groups. We had an elite group of professional players and we also had a group of amateurs who played at the weekend warrior level.

“What was counterintuitive for us was the fact that even though the amateurs didn’t get as many concussions as the professionals, we actually didn’t find any differences between them.

“That’s interesting for us because it means concussion is not only something that will happen at the elite level but also at any level of football.”

Geyer will be put through the same testing as Pearce did for the study, which is called the O’Connor test and is focused on fine-dexterity.

The NRL hardman will be asked to put three small pins into a hole and then also tested on his reaction time.