The retiring Wests Tigers forward Liam Fulton says he could never imagine himself seeking compensation from the NRL over concussion injuries because rugby league has given him everything.
The likeable 29-year-old became emotional when revealing to team-mates yesterday that he had made the decision to retire due to the spate of head knocks he had received this season.
Fulton is still suffering short-term memory loss and confusion, symptoms which are of concern to he and his family.
The good news is he's been told the symptoms are reversible but they might not subside for a couple of years.
If he played the game again, Fulton says he could risk permanent damage.
With a young family to look after, he made the decision to call it quits a couple of weeks ago, but went on holiday to Fiji to mull things over before coming back to inform the club with which he played 161 matches and won a premiership in 2005.
Fulton expressed gratitude to the NRL and the Tigers for the strict concussion guidelines they've introduced this year, and says he can't see himself following in the lead of NFL athletes who had taken legal action against their sport over brain injuries.
Fulton suffered four concussions in just six games played this year and paid tribute to Tigers chief executive Grant Mayer for his support - which is to extend to the Western Suburbs junior working for the club in an off-field capacity for the next two years.
The Tigers captain Robbie Farah described Fulton as the "toughest" he'd ever played with.
