QISSRL Confraternity Cup

Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Rugby League, brought together 52 boys’ teams and 12 girls’ teams from Catholic and Independent schools across Queensland. The first carnival was played in 1980 with a host of Queensland’s greatest players, such as current QLD Maroons Daly Cherry-Evans and Val Holmes, emerging from the event.

This year, hosted in Brisbane with 150+ games played over 4 days, there was definitely plenty of work to be done. It was great to catch up with colleagues that I have worked with at previous carnivals as well as meeting new faces. With the help of another fellow doctor, as well as an experienced senior Physiotherapist, we had a good base for a successful medical team. We were fortunate to have assistance from 4 CQ University Physio students and 5 First Aid officers to help balance the work load.

Day 1 lulled us into a sense of false sense of security with minimal significant injuries to report. The physio students had their fair share of soft tissue injuries but overall a successful start to the tournament.

Day 2 then turned a corner with multiple concussions, lacerations, ligament injuries and broken bones all presenting their own challenges which I think we all worked well as a team to ensure the best outcomes were had.

Day 3 was a rest day and the medical team were invited to the Confraternity dinner and we had the pleasure of listening to Ex-QLD Maroons legend Carl Webb who spoke to us about his battle with motor neuron disease. He truly is an inspiration and his charity, the Carl Webb Foundation is doing fantastic work towards raising awareness and funds to help combat MND.

Day 4 and 5 were finals days and there was still a constant influx of injuries as expected with fatigue starting to show in many athletes. We unfortunately had two significant injuries each requiring an ambulance to be called but thankfully all athletes were ok on following up. The tournament was a great opportunity to show a wide range of medical skills and to work in a team environment.

The biggest take home from the tournament for me was that we know concussion is a widely debated topic currently and to be able to educate both adolescent athletes and their families about the reason behind why we are taking it so seriously was rewarding and that our message appears to be catching on in the wider community.