![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/dc56534e0e6e553a25cd0012458c94c477709d5b.jpeg\")
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If any of Christian Welch\u2019s eight concussions triggered his mindset shift around head trauma, it was the one he suffered during a fateful State of Origin encounter.<\/p>\n
Determined to make an impression, he produced a bone-crunching tackle on New South Wales rival Jack Wighton in game one of the 2020 campaign in Adelaide \u2013 his head making contact with the centre\u2019s hip bone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat really rattled me. That was probably the worst concussion I\u2019ve had,\u201d Welch tells this masthead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe symptoms lingered a lot longer than what I\u2019d been used to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Maroons enforcer was ruled out for the rest of the clash and informed then-Queensland coach Wayne Bennett he was withdrawing from game two, despite passing the NRL\u2019s concussion protocols.<\/p>\n
It is a moment the now-retired Melbourne Storm prop reflects on as one of his proudest.<\/p>\n
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Christian Welch called time on his career at the age of 30 after eight head knocks.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI was \u2013 two or three days post that \u2013 feeling really drowsy and lethargic. It\u2019s hard to explain, but you just don\u2019t feel back to yourself,\u201d Welch says.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re just a bit dazed, so I withdrew. I remember telling Wayne after some running during the week, \u2018I can\u2019t play this weekend, I\u2019m just not there yet, even though I\u2019ve passed\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never know how many Origins you\u2019re going to play or if you\u2019ll get back out there. That was pleasing that I had the maturity late in my career to say I need to prioritise recovery and not play through it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Welch returned to the Queensland fold a year later, only to sustain another concussion in the series launch in Townsville.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrian To\u2019o has a very hard head to confirm,\u201d he laughs.<\/p>\n
He would eventually call time on his career before the 2025 season, having suffered another head knock in the pre-season, while also managing back issues at the age of just 30.<\/p>\n
Since then, Welch has backpacked around Europe and undergone operations on his back, hips and nose \u2013 curing battle scars from a career spanning 163 NRL appearance, including the 2019 premiership and six Maroons caps.<\/p>\n
While he has no lingering symptoms from the head knocks, he admits they were more daunting than the setbacks that placed him under the knife.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely the scariest thing about all the injuries. I\u2019ve done my left and right ACL, my right Achilles, and they\u2019re the big season-enders,\u201d Welch says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m not worried about a bung knee or calf muscle. It\u2019s concerning when you\u2019ve had multiple concussions over your career, and you see some of your heroes of the game who are struggling in older age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Welch\u2019s desire to improve concussion awareness has led to his support of a first-of-its-kind study, with Monash University teaming up with GameGear to launch revolutionary headgear in community football and rugby.<\/p>\n
In partnership with non-profit Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia, the study will involve 600 players aged 16 and older from Victoria, NSW and Queensland, who will test the headgear.<\/p>\n
It was developed to help manage specific head-impact forces without restricting performance, with Manly forward Jake Trbojevic to don the equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndependent lab testing has shown this headgear can significantly reduce the forces transmitted to the head during impacts, which gives us strong reason to think it might lower the risk of brain injury in collision sports such as Australian football and rugby league,\u201d lead researcher Stuart McDonald said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crucial question now is whether those lab findings translate to real games,\u201d the associate professor added.<\/p>\n
Welch described the headgear as \u201ca different look\u201d, but said \u201cwe need to keep evolving\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Manly\u2019s Jake Trbojevic trials the GameGear helmet during the pre-season.Credit: Joel Seeto, Manly Media<\/p>\n
He believed the horrifying incident involving Storm forward Eliesa Katoa would inspire a game-wide shift in mentality among players to better report their health, a<\/a>fter a Rugby League Players Association survey last year found one-third of players were not reporting concussion symptoms suffered at training.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Katoa was ruled out of the 2026 season after suffering three blows before and after Tonga\u2019s Pacific Championships clash with New Zealand, which led to a brain bleed.<\/p>\n