Ivan Cleary has revealed the Panthers would have sought an exemption to have Scott Sorensen play in the NRL grand final if they’d made it – despite him suffering a Category-1 concussion on Sunday that triggers an 11-day stand-down. The Penrith coach expressed his frustration that Sorensen was immediately ruled out of the game against the Broncos before he’d undergone a concussion test, which he later passed.
Sorensen appeared very groggy after a head-clash with teammate Blaize Talagi in the opening minutes of the preliminary final. The independent doctor ruled Sorensen a Cat-1 straight away, meaning he wasn’t allowed to return to the game regardless of the outcome of the HIA (head injury assessment).
Ivan Cleary (R) and the Panthers won’t make an official complaint about how the Scott Sorensen (L) concussion was handled. Image: AAP
The second-rower was given an HIA regardless, and passed the test after the mandatory 15 minutes. He would have been allowed to keep playing had he initially been deemed a Category-2, but because the Cat-1 ruling had already been made he was ruled out.
Sorensen was well enough to watch the rest of the game on the sideline, and Cleary expressed his frustration with the independent doctor’s initial ruling after the game. Because Cleary picked half/hooker Brad Schneider on the bench, the Panthers had to play the rest of the game without an extra forward.
Scott Sorensen was ruled out straight away, but later passed his HIA. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Penrith won’t make official complaint to NRL
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Cleary revealed the Panthers would have asked for an exemption from the 11-day stand-down protocol if they’d made the grand final. Teams can apply to the NRL to have the 11-day period waved, if they can prove a player wasn’t actually concussed.
The Cat-1 ruling would have meant Sorensen wasn’t allowed to play in the grand final, but it doesn’t matter now because the Broncos beat the Panthers 16-14. According to reports, the Panthers have opted against lodging an official complaint with the NRL about how the Sorensen situation was handled.
“It’s a huge call, especially when he passes his HIA,” Cleary said. “It’s a tough one. It makes life a bit harder, for sure.”
Speaking in commentary for Channel 9 at the time, Andrew Johns seemed to suggest the Cat-1 ruling was the right call. “He’s gone, this will be his day over,” Johns said. “One of those indicators if they stagger, it’s a Cat-1 and he was staggering then. He was seriously wobbly.”
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Panthers fatigued after losing Scott Sorensen early
The Panthers led 14-0 in the second half before being run down. It’s the first time in six years they won’t be playing in the grand final. Cleary said his players ran out of steam, which wasn’t helped by the fact they lost Sorensen so early.
“We definitely looked fatigued in the second half,“ the coach said. “They were obviously coming home and coming hard, and there were some little moments there where you get back-to-back sets, where that seemed to happen a lot. And then we had to defend and when we got the ball back, we just didn’t seem to have…we couldn’t do enough and we’re under pressure again. That’s how it felt.”
Nathan Cleary echoed the sentiment, saying: “It was just a game filled with fatigue and that game sort of reminded me a lot of last year’s grand final. I thought we were there or there abouts to make a play and we didn’t do it and unfortunately that’s probably been the story of our season, particularly in the second halves.
“We just sort of let teams back in it and we knew the Broncos were going to come home strong and it’s disappointing because we had opportunities to kick ahead in the second half attacking their line but again fatigue plays a big role in that and it’s frustrating but it’s something to reflect on and get better.”