BY DAN

Corey Harawira-Naera was back for about two hours. Then more (reliable) reporting emerged that outlined that wasn’t actually the case. Yet again we’ve learned the value of circumspection. Yet again sections of the media have failed.

Let’s start with facts. Corey hasn’t been cleared to play footy or for contact. He has been cleared to increase his exercise intensity. He’s got a defibrillator fitted, which creates complications in terms of whether it will work in contact, and whether he’ll be cleared by NRL to play with it in place. The Canberra Times’ excellent reporting says that it’s believed that no one has played contact sport with a defibrillator equipped. The Times report included this quote from Raiders football manager Matt Ford:

He’s still progressing in his rehab, but he still hasn’t been cleared for contact at training at this point

It’s a good sign he’s made this progress. Being cleared to increase his exercise intensity is unquestionably wonderful, mostly for Corey in his personal recovery but also for his prospects in rugby league. It might not be as far as less reliable reporters promised but it does mean another stride or two in a thousand step journey.

There’s many remaining steps to conquer. How a defibrillator operates in contact is obviously one. I’m sure there are concerns around insurance and liability for potential further harms. The team and the competition will have their views about how much risk they’re willing to adopt in that space.

Our mind turns to the case of Chris Bosh in the NBA, who suffered a blood-clotting condition that saw him forcibly retired from basketball by the competition. In that case both the league and his team had been reluctant to let him see the field, before a league doctor eventually ruled him medically unfit to play. We don’t know what Vlando thinks about Harwira-Naera (and lord knows it would only be whatever would please the dickheads in the Sydney media) or whether the procedures are in place to handle a situation like this. If we’re being polite we’d say previous comments by Coach Stuart were circumspect about his chances of playing again. So that may give you an idea of the nebulous state of the situation. We must wait.

Yet again we are back at the position we were in months ago. This is a long process, one that deals not just with football but with the health and life of a human being. Shooting from the hip about who might play or where someone might be signing is one thing. We noted we’ve made the errors of speculation or jumping at a report before. But this is reporting medical situations. These are never straightforward, wholly enmeshed in personal context and must be treated with care and a willingness to not choose certainty where it doesn’t exist. Cleared for exercise isn’t cleared to play footy. I can speculate as to how that happened (my guess it’s the old one source problem) but the problem is that it does happen and it shouldn’t happen here.

We hope this step is evidence of Harawira-Naera’s improving health. We hope this because selfishly we want him to play for the Canberra Raiders again. We also want him to be healthy for his own purposes. For family, for birthdays and Christmases and all that gear. This matter is bigger than footy. We all need to remember that.

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