Lewis wants more money for brain injury research
Rugby league legend Wally Lewis is set to make an impassioned plea for further funding into concussion and traumatic brain injuries research ahead of the federal budget.
The Queensland great will use an address at the National Press Club on Tuesday to open up about his experience with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
Ahead of the May federal budget, the Concussion and CTE Coalition — made up of advocacy bodies such as Dementia Australia — have called for A$18 million ($19.6m) in funding from the government.
The coalition called for the funds to be used to help fund a pilot programme to help support people living with CTE and their families, along with community awareness and prevention programmes.
The group had also urged for more research to help identify the strong causal link between those who have had repeated traumatic brain injuries, such as concussion, and developing CTE later in life.
Lewis revealed in 2023 he had been diagnosed with CTE, following concerns about his memory after suffering repeated concussions during his sporting career.
The former Maroons captain was in Canberra in February as part of a delegation urging for greater funding from the federal government for CTE research.
Lewis will also be joined at the National Press Club address by Collingwood premiership player Nathan Murphy, who announced his retirement from the sport earlier in April following multiple concussions.
Murphy, 24, retired from the AFL after advice from the code’s medical concussion panel.
He played his last match at the 2023 grand final, where he was taken off the field after the first quarter due to concussion.
CTE is the only preventable form of dementia, with estimates that several thousand people are affected by the condition. — AAP
Newcastle forward Jack Hetherington has been handed a one-game suspension after a tunnel altercation with Canterbury hooker Reed Mahoney.
Hetherington and Mahoney were sent to the sin bin in the dying moments of the Bulldogs’ heated 36-12 NRL win on Sunday.
But tensions carried into the tunnel, with Hetherington waiting for the Bulldogs No 9 while bouncing on his feet like a boxer shaping to throw a punch.
Hetherington then appeared to push Mahoney in the chest before the duo were pulled apart by NRL officials.
The Knights prop was handed a grade-two contrary conduct charge on Monday, which was accepted without contest and rules him out for a week.
Mahoney can escape with a $1000 fine after being handed a grade-one charge for the same offence.
Hetherington’s suspension could not come at a worse time for the Knights, who have won just two games to start the season, are languishing in 15th spot and face the high-flying Dolphins on Sunday.
Adam O’brien’s men will be without captain Kalyn Ponga for the foreseeable future due to a foot injury as they struggle to recapture the form that spurred them to last year’s finals series.
“We’re playing like a frustrated team,” O’brien said on Sunday.
“We’re not enjoying it at the moment because the expectation is that we played well last year.
“We’ve got to get back to find our love of the game.”
Jack Hetherington accepted a contrary conduct charge and a one-game ban.