Stuart joins rivals in ripping doctors’ bizarre calls

”Do you think I’d let a player play if they had a concussion or is concussed?” he asked.

“I don’t just trust the players’ comments when they come to the sideline in regards to that.”

Kris was one of two Raiders players forced off for HIA’s with Corey Harawira-Naera also taken into the sheds.

While Stuart agreed that Harawira-Naera needed to come off, he was less convinced about Kris’ departure from the field.

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“When he’s (Kris) down getting his leg attended to and I ask him and there was no fatigue and no pain in his eyes in regards to when he came off, he was very coherent,” Stuart said.

“That didn’t help us in that game. That’s where I talk about toughness (of the team), there was two of them.

“Yep OK, Corey may have had the HIA. We had to serve two players there in very important positions for 30 minutes in that game. But the RLPA, they don’t trust coaches.

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“All they want to do is come talk to me about how much more time off the players are going to get and how much more money.”

Stuart suggested that the RLPA’s priorities were out of order as he raised concerns over the humidity in Townsville.

“I didn’t hear anyone from the RLPA come out and try and go to the NRL in regards to playing up here at 4.30pm in the afternoon,” he said.

“We were very lucky it wasn’t the humidity of what it was yesterday because I think it could’ve been dangerous for the players’ welfare.”

The veteran Raiders coach is far from the only mentor to have taken issue with the independent doctors’ power in round one, with his Bulldogs counterpart Cameron Ciraldo also left “confused” over a similar incident.

Bulldogs winger Jacob Kiraz was ordered off the ground in the first half of his side’s loss to the Sea Eagles, and his coach did not know why.

“I was confused too, because I didn’t see him get knocked,” said Ciraldo.

“Obviously someone picked it up. We were in a good spot, we had them on their line and we were looking pretty good, so for that change to happen with a lot of confusion around it, we didn’t handle that real well.

“I haven’t seen the incident where he got hit yet, he might have got a big knock on his head but he was clearly fine. It made things hard for us, but it is what it is and they’re the rules. We have to be better at managing that period there.”

There was also controversy on Friday night when Knights star Kalyn Ponga was forced from the field, with his coach Adam O’Brien accusing the doctors of “jumping at shadows”.

Veteran Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett also called for the current system to be scrapped, urging the league to trust clubs to make the right decisions.

“The solution is make the clubs more accountable, that’s what I’m saying,” he said.

“Get the guy out of the box, because that’s why the NRL put him in there, to be trusted enough to make the right decision.

“We realised that last year (the system had flaws) but nothing changed with it.

“Instead of taking the soft options and pandering to clubs who do the wrong thing … the clubs have to own it.

“When they (the NRL) had a few moments in the last few years (to crack down on club doctors not cracking down on concussions), they didn’t punish the clubs enough.”

“If you make clubs more accountable, you don’t need an independent doctor.

“The NRL have to punish clubs with heavy fines or a points deduction if you leave these players on the field when they need to come off.”

Stuart was asked about his old rival’s comments, and made his feelings clear.

“I don’t agree with him very often, but yeah I do (agree),” he said.

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