Rugby league cult hero Mark Carroll has repeated his calls for the NRL to assist retired players who are struggling with the effects of concussion suffered during their careers.
Key points:
- Mark Carroll wants the NRL to cover the cost of former players having PET scans
- He says a PET scan showed he has CTE symptoms
- The ARLC recently announced an update to its head injury protocols for current players
Carroll — who was regarded as one of the toughest players during the peak of his career in the 1990s — said a recent PET scan had revealed he was showing symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
CTE is a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated knocks to the head.
Carroll said he was prompted to have a PET scan after watching a Seven News interview with former South Sydney teammate Mario Fenech, who was diagnosed with early onset dementia at the age of 53 years.
Last month, Carroll told News Corp he had suffered more than 50 concussions during his club career with the Rabbitohs, Manly and Penrith.
Speaking to ABC Sport on Sunday, Carroll said the NRL needed to help retired players with covering the cost of a PET scan.
Carroll said not every former player could afford the cost of the procedure.
“There are other players out there … they’ve got nothing. So why can’t the NRL just say thank you for making our game that is called rugby league, and cover the cost of $900,” he said.
“Look after the people who created your game.”
Carroll said he wanted to speak up for “other players living in silence”.
“I’m not doing this for money, or compensation,” he said.
“I’m not doing a class action … I just want to help someone. I want to save someone’s life.”
Head injury protocols were not in place during Carroll’s career, but the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) last month announced it was introducing a mandatory, 11-day stand-down for currrent players after a diagnosed concussion.
The ARLC approved the procedure after a review of “data and advice from a range of experts”.
Carroll played 185 first-grade matches in Australia across two stints between 1987 and 1999.
He also represented NSW and the Kangaroos.