We never got to see the very best of luckless Leeds Rhinos star Stevie Ward – Dave Craven

Some people questioned whether the teenage rookie, who had just received his A-level results barely a week earlier, would be up to the task and capable of taking on so much responsibility. Especially at stand-off.

But those who knew him well were confident Ward would thrive in the circumstances.

He did. Granted, Leeds did not beat Warrington Wolves that day – their miserable losing run in Challenge Cup finals would not be ended for another two years – but the gifted youngster underlined just why he was so highly thought of by those in the know at Headingley and throughout the sport.

It is a shame, then, to have to report on Ward’s forced retirement at an age when he should be entering his prime.

At 27, even having won two Grand Finals and a Challenge Cup, he still had so much to offer the sport, the back-row having never truly realised his potential, mainly due to some horrific bad luck when it came to injuries.

And those injuries: Ward never seemed to get any good fortune and it was testament to his resilience, spirit and courage that he could still prove such an influence in the 2017 Grand Final win over Castleford Tigers.

The Morley lad – who unfortunatley never got to represent England as so many expected – played 80 minutes and made 40 tackles just eight days after spending a night in hospital having dislocated a persistantly troublesome shoulder.

In the aftermath of that famous victory over Castleford, outside the changing rooms at Old Trafford, Ward spoke eloquently about how the misery of that injury had left him considering quitting the game.

He battled on and was named captain of the club he loved, seen as the obvious heir apparent to Kevin Sinfield and Danny McGuire.

Major shoulder surgeries and knee constructions – an ACL saw him miss the 2015 treble-securing victory – are one thing, though: brain injuries are something altogether different.

Ward’s decision to retire, having been unable to overcome the continued ill-effects of two concussions suffered last year, is clearly the right one.

The affable Yorkshireman, who has endured his own dark periods but spent so much of his time helping others through mental health problems, spoke yesterday about his desire to see the sport be more proactive in their bid to ensure players’ long-term safety.

He is the second Super League player to retire due to brain injuries in recent times, following on from Hull KR’s Australian centre Andrew Heffernan who was just 23 when he was advised to quit in 2018.

Concussions in sport are a hot topic given Rylands Law has sent a pre-action letter of claim on behalf of nine rugby union players to various game authorities. Those players have suffered early onset dementia and argue World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and Welsh Rugby Union are negligent.

It is understood a number of rugby league players are planning to do similarly and any successful case brought against the governing bodies could be catastrophic for their resepective sports. That, of course, may not happen for myriad reasons but, what is important is that work is carried out now to try and increase the safety of players moving forward even if it will be difficult given the physical nature of the sport and considering how concussion protocols have already been improved significantly.

Ward, who still suffers from migraines, dizziness, motion sickness, short-term memory issues and slurred speech among many other concussion-related symptons, wants players to be better protected and it is no surprise his former club Leeds are already well down that road.

Throughout 2021, Rhinos will continue to work alongside researchers from Leeds Beckett University and University of Leeds to investigate and measure the impact of collisions in league.

All three parties have been collaborating with Prevent Biometrics mouthguard technology company to measure player collision events and direct head impacts during Super League matches and training in 2020. Results show the mouthguards measure accurately and next season the project will continue to better understand the collision and impact events experienced by players and the potential factors that influence them.

It should eventually help players prepare for them – and limit unnecessary exposure.

Too late for the luckless Ward but a valuable step forward.

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