There hasn't been a more talked about player in the opening two rounds of the NRL season than Kalyn Ponga.
While Newcastle fans would have been hoping that was thanks to a couple of eye-catching performances, sadly that's not the case.
No, instead the Knights' prized player is facing an uncertain future in the game as he recovers from his fourth head knock in the space of 10 months after a crunching hit in the opening minutes of Sunday's gutsy win against the Tigers.
It's unclear when we'll see Ponga on the field again and, like all Knights fans, the Herald hopes he only returns when and if he's able to.
No matter how much we want to see him back on the park, his long-term health must be the priority.
That's why it was heartening to see the NRL announce yesterday that players must be sidelined for 11 days after a concussion in what has been described as the biggest shake up to its player safety protocols in close to a decade.
Under the new rules, players who have been diagnosed with a concussion will be automatically stood down for an 11-day period.
That will mean they are guaranteed to miss the following weekend's match, and potentially a second game depending on turnaround times.
Knights fans should need no reminding of the dangers concussion can pose to players with James McManus last year telling the Herald's Robert Dillon about the severe toll it took on his life post-football.
McManus took legal action against the club, saying he suffered more than 25 concussions during his career, leaving him with impaired cognitive function and memory, depression, anxiety, lethargy, sleep disturbance and the risk of long-term dementia.
The NRL's 11-day guideline comes in the same week the AFL, which has already adopted the same policy, had a $1 billion class action claim launched against it.
The action is on behalf of all professional AFL players who sustained concussion-related injuries while playing or training between 1985 and March 14 this year.
More than 60 former players and family members of dead players have signed on.
The NRL says the changes are about player safety rather than legal threats, following advice from experts and after watching worldwide trends.
While undoubtedly sending a clear message to players in the NRL that often need protecting from themselves, perhaps more importantly, it signals to parents of the next generation of stars that the game is moving with the times.
"There is no greater priority for us than player safety. It's front and centre of everything we do," ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys said.
For a code that hasn't always covered itself in glory, rugby league's decision-makers have thankfully used their heads on this occasion.
