Welcome to the NRL, Mr Smith ... and the real world All at sea ... Ashley Harrison after being knocked out. What does the new CEO of the NRL, Dave Smith, and the former proprietor of Fairfax, Conrad Black, have in common? Well a long time acquaintance of Black's was once quoted talking about the extraordinary effect his second wife, columnist Barbara Amiel had on him: "Conrad was never a sexual being. Then he met Barbara. Welcome to the NFL! And there, after a fashion, are the parallels with Mr Smith. Barely been to a league game before last year, didn't know who the Australian captain was, then, suddenly, "Welcome to the NRL!" Smith has been touted as the man to modernise the game, the man proudly without baggage, agendas or ancient loyalties, the man who can get things done without fear or favour, and I for one say good luck to him. Which is why I write to him now, in a quick open letter. Dear Mr Smith, Good luck in your new role. Hope you brain them. And speaking of brains, and the NFL and the NRL for that matter, allow me to point out far and away the most urgent job you have now and one I believe you risk being held legally liable for, if you do not fulfil it. I refer to effects of concussion, which is the sporting issue of the day in all contact sports around the world. You will be aware of the class action taken out by thousands of former NFL players against their administration for having ignored the dangers they knew about from constant collisions, causing them to be permanently brain damaged. For the record, I write as one recently returned from the United States where I talked to concussion experts and interviewed the most feared linebacker of the NFL in 1969, John Hilton of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who, because of constant concussions, can't spell his name, and doesn't know what year it is. I believe it is both your moral duty, and your legal duty to do everything you can to look after the welfare of rugby league players, despite their desire, and frequently the desire of their coaches, to have them keep playing despite having suffered major concussion. Yes, yes, I know, the NRL has recently outlawed the shoulder charge, and that is a good start. And it is commendable your lot participated in a concussion conference in Melbourne last week, and promised to do a better job in enforcing the rules. But, and here is the crux, Mr Smith. I urgently advise you to look at the case of Ashley Harrison, the Gold Coast Titan, who was on the end of a vicious shoulder last week and knocked motherless. Carried from the field on a stretcher. Not carried off because he was an Omani soccer player and wanted a ride. He was genuinely carried off because his brain had smashed into his skull, and was so bleeding inside that he was KO'd. Under every bit of modern medicine now known, the bare minimum a man like that should be sidelined - a man with a history of being knocked out - is four weeks. But what was the attitude of his coach after the game? She'll be right mate. Literally. For, here is what coach John Cartwright said: "He's had 250 games. He's been knocked out before. He'll be right. And he has been picked in the team for this weekend! Can you believe it? I can't. Does it make your blood run cold? It does mine. You come across as, whatever else, an intelligent man. You surely must know - as NRL chairman John Grant must know, as your medical man Dr Ron Muratore must know - that it will be a disgrace to the NRL and to you all, if he takes the field. It will make all three of you, and Cartwright, legally liable if he does so. Players like Harrison must be protected from themselves. It is your job to do it - and let this column serve as minimal evidence, if you don't, that awareness of the dangers of concussion was already firmly in the public domain when you took the decision. Good luck. Please do the right thing, and insist on Harrison having a month off. There is no downside. The NRL says it puts the welfare of its players first. Here is a chance to prove it. If you don't, the NRL has no credibility on the claim. Best, Peter Fitz Twitter- @Peter_Fitz