Australia's peak medical body says independent doctors on NRL sidelines are not needed while rugby league's administrators have vowed to crack down on any club flouting concussion laws.
The NRL is investigating the circumstances surrounding South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds and Parramatta hooker Nathan Peats returning to the field after copping head knocks in recent weeks.
NRL head of football Todd Greenberg said on Monday that he was concerned about several serious head injury incidents which had occurred in the first three weeks of the season.
Those incidents were being investigated and action would be taken against any club which has breached the rules.
Both the Reynolds and Peats incidents drew criticism, but their clubs insisted they had correctly followed the concussion protocols before deciding they could go back on the field.
Greenberg said that if further measures were needed to ensure clubs abide by the concussion rules they would be introduced.
"Rugby league led the way in implementing a policy to deal with head knocks and concussion last year and the initial club support was encouraging," Greenberg said.
"We are determined to maintain our leadership position in this area because we have a duty to protect our players.
"The last thing anyone wants to see is players put at risk by being sent back on the field when they should be taken out of the game, assessed and treated.
"So, if we need to change our policy relating to concussion to make it stronger then that is what we will do."
The game's administrators are under pressure to bring in independent doctors to assess possible concussions after the Reynolds incident two weeks ago and Peats' knock on Saturday.
Warriors team doctor John Mayhew reportedly remonstrated with Parramatta officials over the decision to allow Peats to return to the ground after viewing the incident in which he suffered the head knock.
Roosters team doctor Ameer Ibrahim raised concerns about Souths' decision to allow Reynolds to pass a concussion test.
This year the NRL has introduced a sideline "concussion tent" which allows team doctors to view replays of incidents in which players suffer suspected concussions and aid in their diagnosis.
Teams doctor from both teams can review the footage which has led to the arguments between opposition team officials.
The NRL is waiting to interview Mayhew as part of its investigation.
Under NRL rules, players who suffer suspected concussions have 15 minutes to pass a SCAT3 cognitive test conducted by team medical staff. If they fail in that time frame they are not allowed to return to the field.
The Australian Medical Association said independent doctors were not needed because medical ethics required club doctors to act in the best interest of their patients and were not susceptible to pressure from coaches or other team staff.
"We would be very concerned if any coach or administrator attempted to overrule a team doctor," AMA vice president and Melbourne emergency physician Dr Stephen Parnis said.
"For any doctor, his care for a team or patient is his first duty irrespective of whether he is employed by the team or not.
"And that's really the end point ... (doctors) are ethically obliged to act in the best interests of the patient irrespective of the implications for the team."
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