Keith Titmuss RIP

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The NRL the most intense and brutal game of all is what the NRL is advertising to the World of Sport and intense Brutality is what the NRL Las Vegas Warriors will serve the crowd in the World stage

The NRL is a brutally intense game and the preseason training is a build up of 10 out of 10 intensity to build up and be ready for the intense NRL competitive games and you wont be able to compete if your not 10 out of 10 hardened to complete the game
I think it is a duty of care all clubs get all players 100% fit and resilient to cope with the brutality of the intense game of NRL

Maybe NRL clubs should lower the intensity of training and do preseason trainning with these blokes ?
I dont think so .
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‘I’m sorry. I’m devastated’: Manly performance boss breaks down at Titmuss inquest​

The parents of Keith Titmuss speak for the first time following their son's death.​

On the third day of the inquest before deputy state coroner Derek Lee, the court heard Titmuss, 20, was the least aerobic player in Manly’s NRL squad and possessed a body mass index of more than 35 when he returned to training.

Singe faced intense questioning from counsel assisting Adam Casselden, SC, about whether the session was appropriate for Titmuss, who could have been exposed to a higher risk of heatstroke.

He became emotional when asked to recount the player’s seizure at the Narrabeen dojo, a small hall used for indoor conditioning and wrestling activities. Titmuss and his teammates had moved to the facility after a 90-minute field session.

“Only learning about the heatstroke and temperature in the last two weeks, that’s devastating,” a tearful Singe said. “To think there’s any possibility [something different could have been done].

“At the end of the day, we didn’t know. He was asymptomatic. He didn’t f---ing stumble, he didn’t do anything. I’m not defending myself. I wished to god he would have stumbled or shown me something, then it would have been different.

Keith Titmuss’ parents Paul and Lafo Titmuss leave the inquest.CREDIT:DION GEORGOPOULOS
“I feel like I’m under siege. If it makes it better and gives peace to the family, so [Titmuss’] mum and dad can start the mourning process and they can grieve for their son, I’ll be as useful as I can in this process.

“Maybe we need to address the signs and symptoms of it better. I’m sorry.”

Singe told the court how Titmuss had shown no signs of being distressed throughout the session before complaining of cramping as teammates stretched inside the dojo.

He requested two players help him to his feet, according to Singe, before the head of performance helped him move back towards a wall. Singe said he then realised something was seriously wrong.

Titmuss started fitting, with the court hearing earlier in the inquest the budding NRL player started involuntarily howling and moving around the floor of the dojo.

He died in Royal North Shore Hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest, with an attending paramedic saying his body temperature of 41.9 degrees was the “highest they’d ever seen”.

The inquest heard Titmuss recorded the lowest score of any player in the club’s yo-yo test – a running test between markers 20 metres apart to gauge aerobic capacity – in the screening days before resuming formal training, and had put on more than four kilograms in the two months of the off-season. He weighed 116.8 kilograms when tested by Manly performance staff.

GPS data from Manly’s first pre-season training session found Titmuss covered 6.7 kilometres during a 90-minute field session before players jogged to the nearby dojo for further conditioning.

Singe agreed with Casselden that Titmuss’ body composition might have put him at a higher risk of heatstroke on the first day of pre-season training, but couldn’t remember whether the Sea Eagles used a Kestrel device to take a heat stress index measure on the day.

He said the reading would have been green anyway as the maximum temperature at nearby Terrey Hills did not reach 25 degrees on the day.

Asked if it was a demanding training session for the first day back, Singe said: “For the 36 players that completed the session, the numbers may look demanding but looking at the breakdown of metres per minute, max speed and heart rates … it’s a solid session, but it’s not something that would be unusual in the NRL.

“We talk about Keith like he wasn’t supposed to be there, but he was supposed to be there. He was a good athlete. He was strong and powerful.”

Singe said he did not feel hot or uncomfortable in the dojo, and would have completed some of the conditioning drills with the squad himself, barring contact activity.

The inquest heard on Wednesday from the club’s longtime head trainer Alex Ross, who acknowledged he had a gear van with ice in it only metres from the dojo when the alarm was raised for Titmuss.

Ross ran to a nearby doctor clinic on the Sydney Academy of Sport campus to raise the alarm.
He said the only significant thing he noticed about Titmuss during the field session was when he shouted “what?” as Manly completed a 100-pass drill.

Players are asked to complete 100 consecutive passes without mistake under fatigue, and Ross recalls Titmuss making the remark when told the count had to be restarted due to an error.

Former Manly assistant coach Michael Monaghan is expected to provide evidence later on Wednesday.

Des Hasler, who was head coach of the club at the time, will front the inquest on Friday.​

The inquest is examining the appropriateness of the response of Manly’s players and support staff to Titmuss’ medical emergency, and whether the training was too intense for his level of fitness.

The inquest is not a criminal trial and no Manly coaches or staff members have been accused of criminal conduct.

 
Hopefully out of all this any learnings can be used by the NRL to save lives in the future even in the most unlikely of circumstances…
 
Hopefully out of all this any learnings can be used by the NRL to save lives in the future even in the most unlikely of circumstances…

The sad thing is the NRL and clubs don't learn.

Lloyd Perret had very similar heatstroke in 2017 preseason training. The NRL should have had clear guidelines issued after that incident.

Even way back in 1990, Danny Sheppard playing for the Roosters was in a coma from heat exhaustion.
 
Oh dear

Des using the Alan Bond excuse I don't remember the stress monitor email

Feel for Keith's parents having to listen to this

Sea Eagles doctor pleaded with Hasler to use heat stress monitor​

Manly coach Des Hasler has been questioned about an email in which the club’s former chief medical officer pleaded with sports science staff to use a heat stress monitor to track conditions at every training session, warning they could be sued if a player dies.

On the fifth day of the inquest into the death of Keith Titmuss, a “heartbroken” Hasler took the stand to give evidence at the NSW Coroners Court, where he was asked about a message from Dr Luke Inman, the club’s top medic until 2019.

In the email sent to Manly’s former head of sports science, Mark Booth, early in 2019, Inman advised the club it should be using a Kestrel heat monitor at every session to gauge the strain players could be under.

Inman was concerned the club had not been using it throughout the early months of the 2018-19 pre-season training.

Casselden told the court Hasler, ex-high performance manager Don Singe and head of football John Bonasera were all copied on the email.

Part of the email from Inman, who wasn’t employed at the Sea Eagles at the time of Titmuss’ death, read: “You are leaving yourself and the club open to litigation if a player suffers heat stress, or at worst, dies. Please, it does not take long to set up.”

The inquest has heard Titmuss likely died of exertional heatstroke after the Sea Eagles’ first pre-season training session in November 2020.

Under questioning from counsel assisting Adam Casselden, SC, Hasler said he doesn’t remember receiving the email from Inman and couldn’t recall tension between Inman and members of Manly’s high-performance staff at the time.

He also said he had no knowledge of the Kestrel device ever being used by sports science staff during a training session while he was Sea Eagles coach.

The court has been told Titmuss suffered a seizure inside the club’s dojo after the first official pre-season training session in 2020. Titmuss was rushed to hospital where he later suffered a cardiac arrest.

The maximum temperature at nearby Terrey Hills didn’t reach 25 degrees on the day, but teammates provided evidence the dojo was “humid and stuffy”. Hasler said he believed the fans would have been turned on for conditioning inside the dojo.

Hasler was asked about the intensity of the field session, which the court heard found Titmuss covered 6.7km, according to GPS data from the club.

Casselden said Titmuss’ risk factor to exertional heatstroke was higher given he was the least aerobic member of the Manly squad on the club’s yo-yo test three days earlier and had a body mass index above 35.

Hasler agreed parts of the 139-minute field session before Titmuss died were “challenging”, but rated it a “six or seven out of 10″ for intensity and stressed Titmuss’ 47 metres per minute covered suggested there was ample time for recovery as well as drinks breaks.

“If he had to consistently and non-stop [move] for 139 minutes, then it would be unreasonable,” Hasler said. “But there were various breaks, changes of speed and rest and recovery. We wanted to make sure it wasn’t too arduous. We don’t want to place players in a position where it’s too hard or they become injured.”

Asked hypothetically if he would have changed the session knowing what happened to Titmuss, Hasler said: “In hindsight, that’s a difficult question. Anyone that’s under my care, you would do anything to prevent such a tragic accident. There could be parts there I could change.”

The inquest is not a criminal trial and no Manly coaches or staff members have been accused of criminal conduct or wrongdoing.

The inquest heard a statement from former player Sione Fainu earlier in the week that Sea Eagles players were told in a meeting before training to advise staff if they were struggling with the session on November 23, 2020.​

Longtime sports doctor Nathan Gibbs, who was the chief medical officer at the Sea Eagles from 2019 until 2021, also fronted the inquiry. He wasn’t at the Sydney Academy of Sport on the day of the session in which Titmuss died.

He told the court the NRL should mandate all clubs having a gradual return to training in the first two weeks of pre-season training to help acclimatisation, suggesting a 50 per cent load in the opening week and 75 per cent in the second week.

“We have to stop people getting to the heatstroke stage,” Gibbs said. “Unfortunately, it can come on within a minute. You have no time to deal with it. It’s all about managing load until the body becomes better at acclimatising.”

Hasler echoed Gibbs’ sentiments and said he would support such a measure.

Hasler, who is now coaching the Gold Coast Titans, said he “thought the world” of Titmuss.
“Keith was a beautiful boy,” Hasler said. “He was much loved. Very highly regarded and very highly respected.

“I’m just so heartbroken of the events that transpired. I remember talking to [Titmuss’ parents] Paul and Lafo and [siblings] Jesse and Zara. I remember, Lafo, you were saying, ‘That boy left and we had breakfast together, he walked out the front door [and didn’t come home]’.

“I’m so, so sorry. I share your heartbreak. I really do.”

 
You beat me to it (posting this).

I think it would unwise on several levels to assume Hasler is lying. A traumatic incident like that can result in memory loss, relating to details on what transpired in the months/days/moments leading up to a devastating event.

From the SMH:

Sea Eagles doctor pleaded with Hasler to use heat stress monitor​

By Adam Pengilly

February 9, 2024 — 12.50pm

Former Manly coach Des Hasler has been questioned about an email in which the club’s former chief medical officer pleaded with sports science staff to use a heat stress monitor to track conditions at every training session, warning they could be sued if a player dies.

On the fifth day of the inquest into the death of Keith Titmuss, a “heartbroken” Hasler took the stand to give evidence at the NSW Coroners Court, where he was asked about a message from Dr Luke Inman, the club’s top medic until 2019.

In the email sent to Manly’s former head of sports science, Mark Booth, early in 2019, Inman advised the club it should be using a Kestrel heat monitor at every session to gauge the strain players could be under.

Inman was concerned the club had not been using it throughout the early months of the 2018-19 pre-season training.

Casselden told the court Hasler, ex-high performance manager Don Singe and head of football John Bonasera were all copied on the email.

Part of the email from Inman, who wasn’t employed at the Sea Eagles at the time of Titmuss’ death, read: “You are leaving yourself and the club open to litigation if a player suffers heat stress, or at worst, dies. Please, it does not take long to set up.”
Former Manly Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler arrives at the Coroner’s Court for the Keith Titmuss inquest on Friday.

Former Manly Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler arrives at the Coroner’s Court for the Keith Titmuss inquest on Friday.CREDIT: KATE GERAGHTY

The inquest has heard Titmuss likely died of exertional heatstroke after the Sea Eagles’ first pre-season training session in November 2020.

Under questioning from counsel assisting Adam Casselden, SC, Hasler said he doesn’t remember receiving the email from Inman and couldn’t recall tension between Inman and members of Manly’s high-performance staff at the time.

He also said he had no knowledge of the Kestrel device ever being used by sports science staff during a training session while he was Sea Eagles coach.

The court has been told Titmuss suffered a seizure inside the club’s dojo after the first official pre-season training session in 2020. Titmuss was rushed to hospital where he later suffered a cardiac arrest.
Former Manly prospect Keith Titmuss.

Former Manly prospect Keith Titmuss.CREDIT: NRL PHOTOS

The maximum temperature at nearby Terrey Hills didn’t reach 25 degrees on the day, but teammates provided evidence the dojo was “humid and stuffy”. Hasler said he believed the fans would have been turned on for conditioning inside the dojo.

Hasler was asked about the intensity of the field session, which the court heard found Titmuss covered 6.7km, according to GPS data from the club.

Casselden said Titmuss’ risk factor to exertional heatstroke was higher given he was the least aerobic member of the Manly squad on the club’s yo-yo test three days earlier and had a body mass index above 35.

Hasler agreed parts of the 139-minute field session before Titmuss died were “challenging”, but rated it a “six or seven out of 10″ for intensity and stressed Titmuss’ 47 metres per minute covered suggested there was ample time for recovery as well as drinks breaks.
Des Hasler gave evidence on Friday.

Des Hasler gave evidence on Friday.CREDIT: KATE GERAGHTY

“If he had to consistently and non-stop [move] for 139 minutes, then it would be unreasonable,” Hasler said. “But there were various breaks, changes of speed and rest and recovery. We wanted to make sure it wasn’t too arduous. We don’t want to place players in a position where it’s too hard or they become injured.”

Asked hypothetically if he would have changed the session knowing what happened to Titmuss, Hasler said: “In hindsight, that’s a difficult question. Anyone that’s under my care, you would do anything to prevent such a tragic accident. There could be parts there I could change.”

The inquest is not a criminal trial and no Manly coaches or staff members have been accused of criminal conduct or wrongdoing.

RELATED ARTICLE​

Keith Titmuss.

Updated​

Inquest

Titmuss had rare heart condition at the time of death, inquest told

The inquest heard a statement from former player Sione Fainu earlier in the week that Sea Eagles players were told in a meeting before training to advise staff if they were struggling with the session on November 23, 2020.

Longtime sports doctor Nathan Gibbs, who was the chief medical officer at the Sea Eagles from 2019 until 2021, also fronted the inquiry. He wasn’t at the Sydney Academy of Sport on the day of the session in which Titmuss died.

He told the court the NRL should mandate all clubs having a gradual return to training in the first two weeks of pre-season training to help acclimatisation, suggesting a 50 per cent load in the opening week and 75 per cent in the second week.

“We have to stop people getting to the heatstroke stage,” Gibbs said. “Unfortunately, it can come on within a minute. You have no time to deal with it. It’s all about managing load until the body becomes better at acclimatising.”

Hasler echoed Gibbs’ sentiments and said he would support such a measure.

Hasler, who is now coaching the Gold Coast Titans, said he “thought the world” of Titmuss.
“Keith was a beautiful boy,” Hasler said. “He was much loved. Very highly regarded and very highly respected.

“I’m just so heartbroken of the events that transpired. I remember talking to [Titmuss’ parents] Paul and Lafo and [siblings] Jesse and Zara. I remember, Lafo, you were saying, ‘That boy left and we had breakfast together, he walked out the front door [and didn’t come home]’.

“I’m so, so sorry. I share your heartbreak. I really do.”

The inquest before deputy state coroner Derek Lee continues.
 
Last edited:
The more we read about this Tragic event the deeper our feeling and thoughts magnify
Thinking deep and sorrow I came up with this

Human error of judgement is made very day by all humans
Sometimes we keep pushing our selves when our bodies are telling us to stop
Sometimes we assume others are capable when internally they are collapsing
Sometimes we over see and over assume
And all this is what all humans are not immune
 
The NRL the most intense and brutal game of all is what the NRL is advertising to the World of Sport and intense Brutality is what the NRL Las Vegas Warriors will serve the crowd in the World stage

The NRL is a brutally intense game and the preseason training is a build up of 10 out of 10 intensity to build up and be ready for the intense NRL competitive games and you wont be able to compete if your not 10 out of 10 hardened to complete the game
I think it is a duty of care all clubs get all players 100% fit and resilient to cope with the brutality of the intense game of NRL

Maybe NRL clubs should lower the intensity of training and do preseason trainning with these blokes ?
I dont think so .
View attachment 25920
Putrid
 
The more we read about this Tragic event the deeper our feeling and thoughts magnify
Thinking deep and sorrow I came up with this

Human error of judgement is made very day by all humans
Sometimes we keep pushing our selves when our bodies are telling us to stop
Sometimes we assume others are capable when internally they are collapsing
Sometimes we over see and over assume
And all this is what all humans are not immune
That is why there is a coronial inquest
 
SMH

‘Inappropriate and unsafe’ training session before NRL player died​

Atraining session during which rising NRL player Keith Titmuss collapsed and later died was “unnecessarily and inappropriately tough” for a player of his aerobic capacity, an inquest has heard.

On the final day of submissions at the inquest into the death of the former Manly forward, the NSW Coroners Court was told the first official pre-season workout posed a risk to the player given its duration and intensity.
Counsel assisting Adam Casselden, SC, made several recommendations in the court on Friday, and submitted the session that Titmuss was put through on November 23, 2020, was “objectively tough, and perceived by the players to be tough”.

GPS data from the training session showed Manly players completed a 139-minute outdoor workout before jogging to a nearby gym, described as “hot and stuffy”, for further conditioning drills.

Former Manly coach Des Hasler, who was employed at the club at the time of Titmuss’ death, last month told the inquest the player’s training load of 47 metres a minute suggested it was a moderate session.

But Casselden relied on the evidence of several expert witnesses to suggest the training, which was held days after Titmuss was deemed to have the lowest aerobic capacity of any player in the squad after a yo-yo test, was beyond an acceptable level for him after an off-season break.
“It was unnecessarily and inappropriately tough given it was the first extended training session of the new season,” Casselden said. “It did not take into account an individual player’s characteristics.

“We submit, with the benefit of hindsight, [it was an] inappropriately high level of intensity and not of a safe level or environment.”

Manly’s legal counsel, Peggy Dwyer, SC, said there was “ample evidence there was a period of gradual training and acclimatisation, and players were encouraged to put their hand up if they’re struggling”.

The inquest heard the likely cause of Titmuss’ death was exertional heatstroke. Titmuss collapsed inside the club’s Narrabeen gym and later died of cardiac arrest. He was 20.
A paramedic who treated Titmuss at the Sydney Academy of Sport said the player’s temperature of 41.9 degrees was “the hottest I’ve ever seen”.

Titmuss was also found to have a 70 per cent narrowing of one of the heart’s main arteries during an autopsy, which one expert witness, Dr Simon Quilty, described as “very unusual” in a young man.
Casselden told deputy state coroner Derek Lee no findings should deem any Manly staff or attending paramedics liable for not detecting the “unusual” exertional heatstroke in the player.

Several of Titmuss’ teammates described seeing him suffer a seizure and involuntarily howling after initially complaining of cramps.

Casselden told the court Manly staff would not have been able to identify any potential dangers of exertional heatstroke from screening results taken days before the training session, and said their response to the medical emergency was “appropriate”.

But he questioned the conditions inside the club’s gym.

Titmuss’ former teammates Josh Schuster and Moses Suli, as well as attending paramedics, described the gym as “probably the hottest I’ve ever been in”, “oppressive” and “very humid”.

There were varying witness accounts of whether the cooling fans were on in the gym or the doors open at the time of Titmuss’ collapse, but Casselden said, “it [is] possible the coaching staff did not appreciate the need for the fans to be turned on”.
Dwyer admitted the gym would have been hotter than the outdoor conditions, which reached only 24.9 degrees at nearby Terrey Hills on the day.

But she said, “if [the fans] weren’t turned on, it was because the players didn’t think it was hot or stuffy enough for them to be turned on. They were clearly there and available.”


Manly have since had air-conditioning installed in the gym.

Casselden made several recommendations for Lee to consider amid the NRL’s ongoing review of its heat policy, including mandating a 14-day period of controlled training for players returning from an off-season break and individual training programs.

He also submitted players should be screened for known risk factors to exertional heatstroke, club medical officers to be present at sessions which might provide a greater risk to players, while also having a doctor sign off on strength and conditioning programs for players returning from extended breaks.

Casselden also suggested the NRL heat policy be updated to include clear rules on both indoor and outdoor training sessions alongside game-day protocols.

Titmuss’ family also recommended to the coroner the NRL be forced to mandate the reporting of all heat-related injuries from training and game days.


Since becoming aware of Titmuss’ likely cause of death, Casselden said, “both Manly and the NRL have taken positive, proactive and immediate steps”.

“Keith was clearly a well-loved and admired young man at that club,” he said.
 

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