BRUTAL REALITY BEHIND LEAGUE’S TOUGHEST MAN
RUGBY league has lost the toughest man to have ever laced on a football boot.
John Sattler, legendary South Sydney Rabbitohs front-rower, and the man who played the 1970 grand final with a broken jaw, defying the most extraordinary pain.
Plenty will be said and written about Satts’ remarkable courage and bravery on a football field.
But we also need to raise the issue of concussion and head knocks that were never treated seriously in his day.
It was a badge of honour to get back up and keep on playing, no matter the injury.
One day Satts even played a full half of football with a dislocated elbow.
Sadly, Sattler struggled with dementia.
As his son and former rugby league star Scott pointed out, in his latter years, Sattler paid the price of a brutal era in rugby league where there were no
HIAs or mandatory 11-day stand-down periods, like the one the NRL has recently introduced.
Back then, a concussion was treated with smelling salts and a wet sponge over your head.
“It’s sad to see, what I’d give to be able to sit and talk rugby league like we used to for hours,” Scott Sattler said in 2021. “I’ll never get that again, this is the effect of rugby league.
“Current players, be thankful for Peter V’landys, Andrew Abdo and Graham Annesley who are ensuring that you can sit with your families in your 60s and 70s and hold a healthy conversation and enjoy your grandchildren.
“This is the reason the rules are being implemented, to save you in years to come, so you can have those healthy discussions.”
There will never be another John Sattler.
And, as far as player welfare is concerned, the NRL will ensure there never has to be.