NRL fans were left stunned this afternoon after Bulldogs playmaker Lachlan Lewis was allowed to temporarily remain on the field despite suffering a gruesome head knock.
During the first half of Canterbury's 38-0 thrashing at the hands of the Rabbitohs, the Bulldogs were hit with an early blow just five minutes in when Lewis copped a knock to the head while attempting to tackle winger Josh Mansour.
Lewis was left helpless on the ground, and then struggled to stay on his feet once he made his way up off the Stadium Australia turf. Rabbitohs players were forced to assist the five-eighth before a Bulldogs trainer came over for a closer look.
But to the shock of many, which included legendary rugby league commentator Ray Warren, Lewis remained on the field for a handful of plays before referee Grant Atkins blew time, with the club trainer coming back on to the field to take the five-eighth off for a Head Injury Assessment.
"He's hurt, he's staggering," Warren told Nine.
"I've got to be honest, I'm surprised he's still out there."
Peter Sterling added: "He gets his head completely wrong."
It was revealed shortly after that Lewis had failed his HIA, which ruled him out for the remainder of the match.
However, fans on social media were left stunned at the initial decision to allow Lewis to remain on the field, with many taking to Twitter to vent their frustrations.
https://twitter.com/BMcSport/status/1377852620077850626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1377852620077850626%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxsports.com.au%2Fnrl%2Fnrl-premiership%2Fteams%2Fbulldogs%2Fnrl-news-lachlan-lewis-concussion-video-bulldogs-vs-rabbitohs-18th-man-reaction%2Fnews-story%2F66028d6a08fe9152a455ccc42d5ab124https://twitter.com/BuzzRothfield/status/1377851692243279873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1377851692243279873%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxsports.com.au%2Fnrl%2Fnrl-premiership%2Fteams%2Fbulldogs%2Fnrl-news-lachlan-lewis-concussion-video-bulldogs-vs-rabbitohs-18th-man-reaction%2Fnews-story%2F66028d6a08fe9152a455ccc42d5ab124https://twitter.com/Gatty54/status/1377852019940020227?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1377852019940020227%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxsports.com.au%2Fnrl%2Fnrl-premiership%2Fteams%2Fbulldogs%2Fnrl-news-lachlan-lewis-concussion-video-bulldogs-vs-rabbitohs-18th-man-reaction%2Fnews-story%2F66028d6a08fe9152a455ccc42d5ab124https://twitter.com/9_Moley/status/1377851947101822978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1377851947101822978%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxsports.com.au%2Fnrl%2Fnrl-premiership%2Fteams%2Fbulldogs%2Fnrl-news-lachlan-lewis-concussion-video-bulldogs-vs-rabbitohs-18th-man-reaction%2Fnews-story%2F66028d6a08fe9152a455ccc42d5ab124
The NRL just earlier this week announced that an 18th player would be added to NRL game day squads from Round 5, which will be used as a concussion substitute.
The 18th man will only be allowed to come into the game if three of his teammates fail HIAs.
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