The Parramatta Eels could find themselves in hot water after using a free concussion interchange on Richie Fa'aoso despite the forward clutching at a shoulder injury in the 28-10 loss to Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.
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While it had no impact on the result, the Eels are likely to be asked for a please-explain after they gained two free interchanges in the second half after Fa'aoso was taken from the field for a concussion Test in an incident Storm coach Craig Bellamy described as "grey area".
The Fa'aoso incident will likely be investigated by the NRL, and while the Eels may well be innocent of any wrong-doing, the issue of some clubs taking advantage of the concussion rule to gain free interchanges has been spoken about behind closed doors by several NRL coaches.
Fa'aoso suffered a heavy concussion in round seven, which was his first game back in 18 months following his premature retirement at the end of 2013 after breaking his neck playing for the Manly Sea Eagles.
Given the sensitivity around Fa'aoso's neck and the fact insurance requirements from the NRL delayed Fa'aoso's return to the NRL until round seven, the Eels took no risks and took the forward from the field for a concussion test.
It came in the same week Fa'aoso told reporters "now you have to grab your leg and pretend you're hurt ... wait until you get the eight count and get back up" in relation to avoiding coming off the field for a concussion test.
While there's no proof to suggest Fa'aoso was acting, the debate over the usage of the free concussion interchange will no doubt increase after the Eels gained two free interchanges on Sunday against the Storm.
Bellamy said his main concern was for the health of the ex-Storm premiership-winning forward, but admitted it was an incident that fell in the "grey area".
"I was more worried about Richie, I must say. Richie played at our club and he played in our grand final side in 2012, I was more concerned about him than the interchange," Bellamy said.
"I think you're always going to get some touchy changes at times. We're obviously trying to do the right thing with concussions and without a doubt I think everyone in the game supports that but at some stage there are going to be a couple of grey areas and that tonight was probably one of those.
"At the time I was just worried about Richie to be honest. I think there's a concern that clubs could exploit a lot of rules to be honest and that's always been a part of our game. You'd hope that's not the case with the concussion rule because it's there for the benefit of the players and the safety of the players so I'd like to think that's not the case."
The two free interchanges did little to change the result, with Billy Slater starring in his first game after a five week lay-off with a shoulder injury suffered in round five, claiming a double in the win at Pirtek Stadium.
Eels coach Brad Arthur said he wasn't even aware of the incident that was questioned during Channel Nine's broadcast of the game.
"I don't even know what the injury is," Arthur said.
"They said he had to come off because he got a whack around the head and we just worked out who had to go back on. I went and spoke to him and he said he's okay, I'm sure the physios and doctors need to have a look at him.
"No disrespect to Richie but I haven't thought too much about it. I had a quick check on him but there are probably more important things we're talking about at the moment."
