BY JOHN DAVIDSON
England and St Helens winger Tommy Makinson has expressed doubt over the RFL’s new ‘brain health’ law changes, stating that he has fully accepted any consequences that come with playing rugby league.
In December the RFL announced a number of changes to make the sport safer and reduce concussions, including a reduction in tackle height, match limits for players and a minimum off-season period.
While Makinson is in support of protecting players, he says he doesn’t want to see rugby league changed too much.
He believes concussions are inevitable in the sport and there is personal responsibility for those for take to the field.
“The way I look at it, this is the job I’ve always wanted to do since I was a kid,” Makinson told rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads.
“And I totally respect other people’s opinions, but my opinion is that it’s my body and I’ve chose this is my thing, this is what I want to do.
“Like any job, and in life, there’s consequences so I’m Ok with that. I understand we have to look after our bodies and the rules coming in to make it safer, but there’s only so far you can go.
“It’s a contact sport and it’s going to happen sadly, just like a lot of other sports. But I’m really happy with how they’re trying to make the game a bit safer, but I don’t think we should go too far and totally destroy the game.
“You could limit it to a point where there’s no contact – if you want to make it safer you can probably say don’t have contact then, and then it’s not rugby league is it?”
Makinson has played more than 300 games for club and country.
The 32-year-old, who won the Golden Boot award in 2018, is keen for rugby league not to lose its unique selling point.
“In my opinion this is the sport I’ve always loved, the one I’ve always chose, I’ve been paid well for it,” he said.
“I’m not silly in being let’s not look after our bodies, let’s take the latest data, let’s do everything we can to look after each other but at the same time, it’s rugby league. It’s what we love doing.”
