I'm not a great believer in fixed penalties for head tackles because it doesn't do anything about the handful of repeat-offenders who, whilst admittedly in the minority, wreak havoc with the health of players and generally bring the sport into disrepute.

For a long time I've advocated doubling the ban each time a player is found guilty. This really would make players think twice about a career in head-hunting.

To cover the possibility of first-time offenders committing a horror tackle you could have a fixed penalty of five or eight games.

But for everyone else it starts at one game. Once a player gets to his fourth ban he's looking at eight games. A fifth and it's sixteen. By that time if the player isn't changing his ways you can bet his club will have something to say.

I would suspect that 99% of head injuries and impacts that cause concussions are not related in any way to foul play or high tackles. From experience I have had concussion on several occasions and not once has it been because someone hit me in the head. Most were from me f*****g up my head position going into contact or hitting my head on the ground. Rob Burrow went through a period where he just couldn't seem to make a tackle without knocking himself out.

We shouldn't over react to head high tackles but it is something that needs to be looked at a little more closely at the moment as it seems to be creeping back. The games tough enough without serial head hunters coming back into the game.

Yeah from what I've seen so far this year their hasn't been a load of people going off with suspected concussion from a wild high tackle (Ah Van on Charnley was one). Quite a few seem to be like the one Watkins picked up on Friday when trying to make the tackle, McIlorum did similar the previous week against Warrington. When we played Wigan, Bateman and Patrick clashed heads when both trying to tackle a Leeds player with the latter of the two going off to be checked.

It's still about. Green on Burns wasn't punished and Burns didn't leave the field. It was an awful challenge and Burns should have been removed from the field as well. RL is historically wide open to claims from former players. Being knocked out was a badge of honour, you got a big cheer and a pat on the back from your coaches and physios if you went back on, or got up and played on. We've all done it as fans, laughed when an opposition player staggered back into the line like a drunk in Blackpool, then yelled for our own team to run at him. The steps taken this year are a start, but it's something that needs looking at. A study into whether head guards have any benefit is one idea.

Recovery time is critical like all injuries, it's just far too easy to ignore a bang on the head - at least it has been.
I went through a patch where I picked up a few mild concussions in a row over a couple of months and I didn't take a break, I then copped a knee going into a tackle which made the bells ring. At the time I recovered quickly and played on. The next day at Sunday lunch with the in-laws we had just finished eating when apparantly I started talking gibberish and had to be put to bed. I don't remember anything from that morning until tea time lying in bed. The next week i was off work for a couple of days (with "flu"icon_wink.gif but around lunchtime on the Friday I developed a banging headache and I couldn't see properly. That's when I finally got to hospital to be checked out. I had been severely concussed and was pretty lucky it was just that. I didn't play for 2 weeks, fully recovered, and didn't have another concussion for a couple of years and never had them recur like that again.

I like what the RL is doing, focussing on assessments and resting injured players because in the long run it will benefit the player and the club.

A research study has already taken place regarding the use of head guards to protect against brain injuries. The overwhelming conclusion is that they do not. They only prevent superficial injuries and infact can contribute to more severe brain trauma because players wearing them have a false sense of security and can put themselves at greater risk becuase they wrongly feel protected.

There are enough examples of NFL brain injuries to prove the point, and their head protection is almost a motorcycle helmet.

Big difference in the contact styles of the two sports.

In the NFL, until fairly recently hits to the head were legal and indeed encouraged as a way of taking opposition players out of the game. Contact was all about hitting hard enough to dislodge the ball rather than simply tackling the ball carrier.