By Dennis Langley
James Tamou’s future is in doubt after suffering suspected spinal damage
James Tamou, forward for the Cowboys, Blues and Kangaroos suffered a neck injury in the win over the Bulldogs last night placing his immediate playing future in doubt.
Tamou was rushed to hospital after lying motionless on the ground and complaining of pins and needles in his left arm, more on his condition will be known after having scans.
McKinnon has been well supported by the NRL others haven’t been as lucky.
Tamou’s injury comes after a new interim players insurance policy was put to the Rugby League Player’s Association which would see the maximum payout double from the current $500,000 to $1,000,000.
The payout will apply to the most serious of injuries including paraplegia, quadriplegia, loss of sight and the loss of the use of a limb which ends a player’s career.
The interim scheme will operate through until March 2015 while a new whole of game policy is developed. The NRL’s player insurance policy has come under scrutiny since Knights player Alex McKinnon suffered a severe spinal injury in March.
It was revealed McKinnon would receive a less than sufficient compensation payment from the NRL in comparison to other codes in Australia. Had he been an ARU player suffering the same injury he would have been entitled to a $1.5million payout and if he was an AFL player (a code with far fewer heavy collisions) he would receive $1million in compensation.
The #RiseForAlex round was a huge success raising $1.2million for his foundation and he has also been given a job for life by the NRL, however there are several players that have slipped through the cracks.
Simon Dwyer could find himself in financial turmoil when his contract expires
Simon Dwyer tore five nerves from his spinal chord in a tackle in 2011 leaving him with no use of his right arm which is still left in a sling to this day, he has been under contract with the Tigers since but that contract expires at this season’s end.
The NRL will donate $5 to him from every adult and family ticket sold for the Tigers vs Storm clash in round 21 and he has a fund raising event scheduled for August 1st, but this will still leave him well short of what he would have received under a more comprehensive insurance policy.
Tigers winger Taniela Tuiaki has struggled to find employment since being forced to retire in 2009, a series of unsuccessful ankle surgeries has left him struggling to walk.
With the NRL having signed a $1Billion TV rights deal in 2012 it is simply unacceptable that the custodians of the game, who put their bodies on the line every week have not been comprehensively covered against career ending, and life changing injuries. Thankfully under the new policies the future looks brighter for tomorrows players.