NRL Players To Be Tested For Heart Conditions Before Start Of 2016 Season

For the first time in history, all National Rugby League players "will undergo a heart scan before they take the field next year," according to Michael Carayannis of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. NRL and U20 players "will undergo electrocardiogram (ECG) screening before the start of next season, in a move funded by the governing body." Players may also undergo MRI scans of the brain in the preseason and "be re-tested if they suffer a concussion as a way of tracking any damage to the brain." These developments came after club doctors met NRL Chief Medical Officer Paul Bloomfield on Saturday. During the five-hour meeting at the NRL's Moore Park headquarters, "a range of topics including concussion and prescription drugs were discussed." Concussion "dominated much of the discussion among the club's doctors." Debate "surrounded the possibility of tracking the impact of concussions on a player's brain by having multiple MRI brain scans." An NRL spokesperson said this was in the "very early proposal stage" (SMH, 10/7).