Why Trbojevic wasn’t ruled out after head knock

Sea Eagles veteran Jake Trbojevic wasn’t instantly ruled out of Saturday’s brutal semi-final showdown with the Roosters because the independent doctor in the Bunker wasn’t satisfied that he displayed definitive motor incoordination as a result of a heavy collision with Lindsay Collins.

Manly had already lost a player when Tolu Koula was knocked out of the contest from the opening kick-off when he got his head in the wrong position when trying to tackle Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

It took just minutes for the independent doctor to rule that he had displayed category 1 signs, but the same didn’t apply to Trbojevic, who appeared dazed and stumbled as he got to his feet after making a tackle on Collins.

He was deemed a category 2, with the Bunker’s read on the situation slightly blurred after the lock forward was pushed back to the ground by Connor Watson as he tried to clear the ruck.

It meant he was able to return to the field 15 minutes later after passing a head injury assessment in the sheds.

“In the opinion of the independent doctor in the Bunker, the signs that Jake exhibited were possible motor incoordination,” NRL head of football Graham Annesley said.

“The Bunker is just looking at vision, so there’s no element of diagnosis here. They’re looking for indicators that might indicate whether a player has reacted in a certain way.

“In this case it was possible motor incoordination.

“Because it’s possible motor incoordination, some people are unsteady on their feet without any reason to be unsteady. In this case, when Jake hit the ground, he was starting to get up again and then he was pushed again.

“The Bunker doctor took the view that it was possible motor incoordination as opposed to definitive motor incoordination which would have automatically been cat 1

“Having implemented the cat 2, it then becomes a matter for the doctor to conduct HIA testing to determine if a player has suffered a concussion or not.”

There have been calls this season for the Australian Rugby League Commission to amend the kick-off next year to protect players from heavy collisions, and Annesley confirmed that it was something they could look at in the off-season.

Meanwhile, Annesley backed the decision to award the Sharks a penalty try in Friday’s semi-final win over the Cowboys after Braydon Trindall was dragged back by Reuben Cotter as he chased his own kick.

There is a common misconception that the referee and the Bunker must be absolutely certain that a player would have scored if not for an infringement, but Annesley cleared up the confusion by providing the actual rules from the international guidelines.

“The referee may award a penalty try if in his or her opinion the try would have been scored but for the unfair play of the defending team,” he said.

“This is purely opinion based, so there are no hard and fast tests to determine whether the referee or the video referee are correct in their assessment.

“Others may have a different opinion, but I think it’s perfectly reasonable to suggest that Trindall was at least a very good chance of getting to the ball.”