Former premiership-winning winger Blake Ferguson has called out the NRL, lending his voice to growing calls for the league to provide better medical assistance for recently-retired players.
Taking to Instagram, Ferguson claimed he has been denied support from the NRL to cover costs associated with medical procedures on his nose, which has been broken eight times.
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Ferguson last played in the NRL back in 2021, later playing for Championship side Leigh Centurions before moving back to Australia to play for Thirlmere Roosters in a local league.
As explained by the Rugby League Players Association back in January, the current CBA players only have 12 months to have “any surgeries and rehabilitation paid for that will help fix the injuries they suffered during their careers”.
“After 15 years in the nrl system, playing 249 games for 4 NRL teams winning a grand final, 7 games for @arlkangaroos, 9 games for @nswblues, winning the Harry Sunderland medal (players’ player for Kangaroos) and breaking my nose over 8 times you’d think they would fix it as I dedicated my life and body to the game,” Ferguson wrote in an Instagram story on Wednesday night.
“But no I have been told because I went to Japan and England and it has been over 12 months (since his last NRL game) that I’m not eligible for the medical treatment to fix it.
“What’s the go deadset person struggles to sleep at night and puts bums on seats for yas and you wanna just throw a person to the kirb [sic] once they are retired. Absolute joke.”
In a separate post, Ferguson wrote: “Surely I can be compensated for ruining my face. This wouldn’t have happened if I just played for ya local footy team. You think this came from walking in the park on an afternoon @rlplayers @arlkangaroos @nrl @nswblues.”
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Ferguson had plenty of support, with Andrew Fifita, Josh Addo-Carr, Sandor Earl and Latrell Mitchell among those to share his post.
South Sydney fullback Mitchell re-posted Ferguson’s story with his own message, writing: “Regardless of how long you’re out of the game you should be compensated for your dedication”.
“What I’ve witness as a young fulla coming in to a system with you bred showed a lot of professionalism. Love ya bra. Bums in the seat for a game that forgets their biggest assets.”
Fifita, meanwhile, has already had an osteotomy on his knee and had his nose reconstructed and told AAP back in January that he needs another four surgeries.
“I’ve got 12 months to get it done, and I feel like I’m rushing to get it all sorted,” he told AAP at the time.
“I find having 12 months is a bit of a s*** go, but I feel like that’s why it’s important what the RLPA is doing.
“I’ve always heard from past players who said how important it was to get your body checked (before retirement) so you can get all the stuff you need.”
Former NRL winger Beau Ryan also joined calls for a new medical support fund earlier this year, telling NCA Newswire that it is an issue that “needs a lot of attention”.
“I’ve spoken to a few of the guys I used to play with 10 years ago whose bodies have broken down for different reasons – one needs a knee replacement and the other needs a brain scan,” Ryan said.
“At the moment, these guys are only covered for 12 months to get surgery after they stop playing, but sometimes your body doesn’t feel the full effects until two, three, four years after you’ve stopped playing.
“… “You hear people saying the players want more money, but it’s not about that. The players aren’t being greedy.
“They’re trying to protect themselves and future generations from what guys have gone through for the past 40 years.
“It’s a tough sport, and sure they get paid well, but the retirement fund and the post-footy fund needs a lot of attention because there are lots of people struggling for a number of reasons.
“There are a lot of people whose careers were cut short, and while some people have been able to stay in the game, others haven’t been so lucky.
“I think the game has a responsibility to not only protect players, but to also provide them with a safety net to help them when they do retire to get back on their feet.”
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