Amidst the drama and coaching blow-ups, Sydney Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary has backed the NRL's independent doctor to continue in their role, and believes players will be thankful for them sooner or later.
Keary has battled concussion problems during his days in Bondi, suffering five in 18 months by mid-2019, and has continued to cop them more and more. He even donned headgear against the Dolphins after copping a heavy hit in the pre-season.
There's been more and more uproar of late regarding the NRL's independent doctor, removing several key players at key stages over the opening round, causing backlash from the likes of Adam O'Brien, Cameron Ciraldo, Wayne Bennett and Ricky Stuart.
Roosters teammate Victor Radley copped his third head knock in the past year on Sunday, though has been named to play this week and will take the field provided he passes an individual review.
However, despite costing teams their star at the worst timing, Keary supports the independent doctor and their cause, believing that players will see the perks over time.
“I think [independent doctors] are definitely the right direction to go,” Keary told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“The club doctor at a game has a million things going on, right. And then you've got to trust that someone can spot the knock at ground level.
“You saw it in Origin, the trainers are running around, they're not watching every tackle to see if someone's got a head knock. They're trying to do other jobs.
“The way the NRL's got someone there, they're not aligned with any club. Their job is to look out for the welfare of the player. They're not there saying ‘let's just take him off just in case'. That's not their job.
“You'd rather err on the side of caution anyway. And as players, right now we maybe can't see it. We just want to play.
“But later on, we'll be thankful for them. Anyone who argues against that, I don't see how.”
Keary will likely slip the headgear on again this weekend against the New Zealand Warriors, and even if the 31-year-old gets removed from play in a key moment this weekend, he knows it's for the greater good.
He may have head a few head knocks in his time, but I’d say his common sense remains unimpaired.