Manly halfback Daly Cherry-Evans has defended club doctor Thomas Gan's decision to pull him off for a concussion test late in their defeat to the Dragons in Wollongong on Friday night.
Speaking after the match, an irate Sea Eagles coach Geoff Toovey expressed his dismay at being forced to haul his star playmaker from the field at a critical junction in the match.
Manly were down 12-4 when a fuming Cherry-Evans was substituted off the field in the 76th minute, but the Kangaroos representative later said that while he thought he wasn't concussed, Gan was simply following the NRL's strict concussion laws.
"They are the processes in place. Manly's done a good job in sticking by the processes, but unfortunately it's definitely a case-by-cause situation," he told NRL.com.
"I can honestly say that I didn't feel dazed or wobbly in my legs. I just unfortunately copped a hit to the head that hurt. But under no circumstances did I feel as though that I was concussed or dazed.
"It was a couple of sets before I was dragged off. They had time to review it, which is the process that takes place and then they felt as though I needed to come from the field.
"It's disappointing, but what can you do? The medical staff are sticking to the processes that needs to be in place."
Toovey blamed the presence of NRL Chief Medical Officer Paul Bloomfield at WIN Stadium for Gan's haste in getting Cherry-Evans off the field for a concussion test.
"The doc thought he may have been concussed, so he told the trainer to go out and get him off because again, they know that the chief medical officer of the NRL was here tonight on the sideline, and they're all panicking. They don't want to get the club sued, and they don't want to be liable for anything. It's crazy," Toovey said.
"The protocols came out in the last few weeks and there's intense pressure obviously on them. I understand, I want to look after the players as much as anyone. But it's a very tough line to decide on what's the right thing for the player, and what's the wrong thing."
Cherry-Evans was later cleared of concussion, however Toovey could still be without skipper Jamie Lyon (groin), Josh Starling (knee) and Feleti Mateo (knee) for next week's clash against Canberra in Albury.
