Former Manly Sea Eagles player Lloyd Perrett has launched legal proceedings against the club after allegedly sustaining permanent injuries from a heat stroke incident, which he says cut short his career.
In a statement from legal firm Carter Capner Law, he revealed that they have filed a claim in the NSW Supreme Court, saying he was forced into early retirement through the actions of the Sea Eagles.
The young front-rower says he was deprived of water when he collapsed and had a seizure during a gruelling 2017 training session, ultimately leading to the end of his rugby league career.
He alleges that the club was negligent because more precautions should have been taken for players’ safety, rather than requiring intensive time trial training to be conducted in the gruelling conditions.
The firm’s director, Peter Carter, described the session as an “outlandish training regime”.
“On 6 November 2017 a compulsory pre-season training session was held at Narrabeen Sports Complex at Wakehurst Parkway in very warm conditions,” Mr Carter explained.
“Players were instructed to run three successive two-kilometre time trials without water being supplied during the session, at very short intervals.
“During the third time trial Lloyd collapsed and his next memory was waking up in Mona Vale Hospital with a diagnosis of severe heat stroke.
Lloyd Perrett of Manly is assisted from the field during an NRL match in 2017. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
“Despite the injury, Lloyd attempted a come-back, playing ten or so games in the 2018 season and five in 2019. That was the last time he played NRL level.”
The firm noted that since the incident, the NRL has implemented welfare rules to prevent heat stress and ensure player safety in warm conditions.
This claim is seeking compensation mainly for the loss of income that Perrett could reasonably have expected for the remainder of his career.
“Given he was a very successful player at such an early stage of his career with arguably many good years ahead of him, the potential damages are well into the millions of dollars,” he said.
Perrett debuted with the Bulldogs in 2014 before signing a $500,000 a year contract with the Manly Sea Eagles in December 2016, and was selected to be part of the Queensland emerging origin squad.
