The beginning to his NRL career has been punctuated by concussions but English Test hopeful Joe Greenwood doesn't believe it poses a threat to his long-term future in the game.
Greenwood made his return for the Titans in their 16-12 win over the Sharks on Saturday night after missing the previous two weeks due to suffering two concussion-related injuries in the opening five weeks of the season.
The 24-year-old lasted less than three minutes before suffering a head knock against the Knights in Round 2, was forced from the field with 11 minutes to play against the Warriors in Round 5 and was the subject of intense scrutiny by the NRL after he failed to come from the field against the Eels in Round 3, later claiming a poke in the eye had caused his apparent unsteadiness on his feet.
Admitting that he had suffered a couple of concussions whilst playing for St Helens in the Super League, Greenwood brushed aside any concern that it will become a recurring problem for him.
"No I feel fine with that," Greenwood told NRL.com about any potential concerns moving forward.
"You were a little bit worried when you go in for first contact but I've done it in training and you just have to forget about it and go on because it's your job and that's what you have to do.
"I had a couple of concussions [in Super League], it comes with the sport, but because there were two near enough back-to-back it was a bit of a worry but hopefully we've gone past that and I can just move on.
"They were just clashes of heads, even with my own teammates, so they were just freak accidents. It happens, you can't do nought about that."
Only joining the Titans in the week leading up to Round 1, Greenwood has been used predominantly on the left edge by Titans coach Neil Henry but was forced into playing a number of different roles against the Sharks.
Injuries to Chris McQueen, Chris Grevsmuhl, Ryan Simpkins, Dale Copley and Karl Lawton meant that Greenwood was shifted between the left edge, the middle and then out to the centres in a 63-minute performance.
It was Greenwood who provided the final pass for Leivaha Pulu to score the match-winner in the 75th minute and said that he felt a lot more comfortable in the NRL environment after a couple of weeks out.
"I did feel loads better coming back and did a stint in the back row, a little bit in the middle and then out in the centres for a bit with the injuries we had," said Greenwood.
"I feel great. You get used to the team and the way they play and the biggest thing is our defence.
"We're starting to buy into our defence system and we just need to keep building and pushing on."
