News Rugby league legend Steve Mortimer reveals he is battling dementia

[AlzzBulldog]

Sad news.… one question though what about the sport of boxing, they would cop the worst blows to the head repeatedly overtime, does that mean we ban boxing all together? And I don’t see anyone suing them

 

[bullanth]

A beautiful human being,have had the pleasure of shaking his hand a couple of times around the club,for me Turvey and Baa,the 2 best ever to put on the blue and white,we all love Turvey.

 

[_G-Dog_]

Very sad indeed.. Hope the club is offering help for him & his family..

 

[Howie B]

Very sad indeed.. Hope the club is offering help for him & his family..

20 years ago I would have no doubt they would. But these days the in fighting and dick measuring amongst the factions within the club makes me doubt they would even care to be honest.

But the supporters care Turvey and we all love ya champ

 

[LFC Bulldogs]

Sad news, he’s only 64 too. That’s young .

 

[blue & white blood]

It was with a heavy heart when I read this article.
I converted to a Dogs fan in the 70's when I saw Turvey run rings around the opposition. Will always be the best player I've ever seen. No one before or since Turvey can do what he did on the field - blinding acceleration to regularly score tries/break the line from dummy half, chip and regather, best cover tackler of all time, great passing and kicking game. Absolute match winner, incomparable leader and won 4 GF - a bulldogs record and far superior GF record to many great HB including "immortal" Johns, "future immortal" Thurston, Stuart etc.
As bad as our side has been for nearly a decade imagine being a dogs supporter from 1943 to the late 1970's where they didn't win a GF. We won half of our 8 GF during Turvey's 13 years because of this great man. My prayers are with you Steve Mortimer - the real immortal of rugby league.

You've Summed it up beautifully, you've said everything that I wanted to say, It is because of Steve Mortimer That I follow the Bulldogs, he is the greatest player I've ever seen, I don't believe in this Immortal Bullshit because Steve Mortimer should have been one of the first to be selected, but he will be an immortal in my heart. A great ambassador for the game and for the Bulldogs both on & of the field. I heard That interview on the radio with Steve and his son, and I knew something was wrong right away. Take care of your self champion & I know that I speak for all Bulldog Supporters when I say that our hearts and our prayers go out to the greatest half back and the greatest Bulldog of all time the Arch Bishop of Canterbury - Steve Mortimer.

 

[Alan79]

I've got no issues with the NRL cracking down on high shots. I've thought for a while that they're a bit lax with their dealing with it. I do have a bit of an issue with the fact that they're not being terribly consistent with it. On top of the 6 again rule it's really pissed fans off immensely.

As for Turvey and his dementia. I have some sympathy for him in suffering from this. Having worked in nursing homes, it's a tough one to deal with for the families as much as those suffering. I hope that Turvey gets many years before he loses touch with the present.

 

[Packstar]

Sad news.… one question though what about the sport of boxing, they would cop the worst blows to the head repeatedly overtime, does that mean we ban boxing all together? And I don’t see anyone suing them

You demented dickhead

 

[Bulldog wazza]

It was with a heavy heart when I read this article.
I converted to a Dogs fan in the 70's when I saw Turvey run rings around the opposition. Will always be the best player I've ever seen. No one before or since Turvey can do what he did on the field - blinding acceleration to regularly score tries/break the line from dummy half, chip and regather, best cover tackler of all time, great passing and kicking game. Absolute match winner, incomparable leader and won 4 GF - a bulldogs record and far superior GF record to many great HB including "immortal" Johns, "future immortal" Thurston, Stuart etc.
As bad as our side has been for nearly a decade imagine being a dogs supporter from 1943 to the late 1970's where they didn't win a GF. We won half of our 8 GF during Turvey's 13 years because of this great man. My prayers are with you Steve Mortimer - the real immortal of rugby league.

So true sir and indeed they are great memories watching him play in my younger years of a golden era of the club when i arrived in 78 to Sydney from NZ. Turvey his bros along with the Hughes bros are why I follow the dogs 4 life. Such a fearsome competitor with all the speed and class. Many thanks Turvey and god bless you sir.

 

[Bulldogsteve]

and all the fuck wits are saying the high shots should remain

 

[The DoggFather]

Fuck!

Fight on, Canterburys favourite son!

 

[Caveman]

Sad news.… one question though what about the sport of boxing, they would cop the worst blows to the head repeatedly overtime, does that mean we ban boxing all together? And I don’t see anyone suing them

Exactly, I was thinking this earlier, only thing I'd say in boxing hitting in the head is required, however in league they probably can (and should) do things to reduce RISK of concussion. They will never get rid of it completely and I think they have rushed the implementation of the new rules.

 

[The DoggFather]

Exactly, I was thinking this earlier, only thing I'd say in boxing hitting in the head is required, however in league they probably can (and should) do things to reduce RISK of concussion. They will never get rid of it completely and I think they have rushed the implementation of the new rules.

We can't even tackle the shoulders now in JRL.

As a coach and a dad of a shortish, hard to tackle little bull, I'm happy with it tbh. My boy is in U9s, 52kgs 110cm, low to the ground and hard to handle (think of Taumalolo mixed with Cheese), he cops at least 2 or 3 head highs a game since U6s.

Since the crackdown, he has scored 5 tries from 3 games because the refs are already changing players and coaches styles.

I always taught my team to hit them hard in the guts and under the ribs to fold them in half.

 

[wendog33]

Headers in soccer are apparently very dangerous over time. Like getting kicked in the head.

 

[Heckler]

Steve Mortimer is What epitomises The Bulldogs. May God protect you through your Journey. We stand with you.

 

[wendog33]

We can't even tackle the shoulders now in JRL.

As a coach and a dad of a shortish, hard to tackle little bull, I'm happy with it tbh. My boy is in U9s, 52kgs 110cm, low to the ground and hard to handle (think of Taumalolo mixed with Cheese), he cops at least 2 or 3 head highs a game since U6s.

Since the crackdown, he has scored 5 tries from 3 games because the refs are already changing players and coaches styles.

I always taught my team to hit him hard in the guts and under the ribs to fold them in half.

That's great news for the longevity of the game really and for the kids who just wanna play footy.

I know I said it before ( with very few Likes lol) but would making it max of 2 tacklers make a difference?

 

[mr j]

Puts alot of things into perspective, as much as rugby league looks different now it's for the best. Vlandys is doing a preety job in my opinion.

Rubbish. The game has never been as soft. Back in the day Steve was playing when a player was concussed they’d be given smelling salts and thrown back into the match. The game this era is as safe as its ever been and never needed the crackdown. We have doctors at the ground reviewing footage, concussion protocols where a player mandatory sits two weeks out etc the game has already done above and beyond to protect players. NRL is so afraid of the liability from the old days. It’s a contract sport FFS

 

[mr j]

I've got no issues with the NRL cracking down on high shots. I've thought for a while that they're a bit lax with their dealing with it. I do have a bit of an issue with the fact that they're not being terribly consistent with it. On top of the 6 again rule it's really pissed fans off immensely.

As for Turvey and his dementia. I have some sympathy for him in suffering from this. Having worked in nursing homes, it's a tough one to deal with for the families as much as those suffering. I hope that Turvey gets many years before he loses touch with the present.

Answer is simple, have to seperate incidents between accidents and intentional. For incidents that are intentional such as late and high hits after ball player has thrown the ball by all means needs to be stamped out of the game. Its impossible to remove contact with the head in a contact sport. To remove it entirely needs to be touch footy.

It’s unfortunate about Turvey but he didn’t complain at the time he played. He made a career from playing the game and the game even before this year was safe, no biff, no shoulder charges, doctors, concussion protocol etc has been introduced to ensure players are protected.

The game should put its arms around the players who have played the game before the 2000s and help them as much as possible. Players now don’t need protection at all, game is currently soft as butter and get paid fairly well and understand the risks involved in playing the game.

 

[Heckler]

Might have to revert back to 5 metre rule to soften the impact.

 

[The DoggFather]

That's great news for the longevity of the game really and for the kids who just wanna play footy.

I know I said it before ( with very few Likes lol) but would making it max of 2 tacklers make a difference?

Well I love defence and my style is to go up and in and hard to hurt and I have them 2 or 3 in a tackle max from now.

Any kid can score, what impresses me is when a kid hurts in defence and saves a try.

For example, my boy is know for his hard hits and lethal fend. I get not just Wenty coaches but opposition coaches coming up and asking is my boy the hitman? Lol

First touch of his first game for Wenty, we were playing Toongabbie Tigers and there was this massive Islander boy who looked like he was 30 (lol). We kicked off, of course it landed in his lap and he started to run back and aim at my boy and my dummy half (the 2 shortest players), Assassin Jnr lined him up with the PERFECT text book tackle under the ribs, jolted the ball out of his hands knocking it on when my Dummy Half picked up the ball for an easy try, 7 seconds into the game.

Fucking proud as punch! The Islander boy then moved to the wing and then got subbed off after the 1st quarter and didn't return the rest of the game.

PS just want to brag we are on top of the ladder half way through the season with a 6-1 record and that 1 loss is when the dogs fluked their only win lol