The family of a teenage rugby league player have made the heartbreaking decision to switch off his life support after he was critically injured during a weekend junior match in southern NSW.
Murrumburrah High School student Lui Polimeni, 15, was concussed during a tackle and collapsed on the field as his team, the Gundagai Tigers, took on the Tumut Blues in an under-16s match in Gundagai on Sunday.
The game was immediately stopped and Lui received medical treatment on the field, before he was flown to Canberra Hospital in a critical condition.
He was placed in an induced coma, as his family kept a vigil at his bedside.
The Gundagai Tigers said in a statement on Wednesday that Lui had suffered "massive stroke symptoms".
"After deep consideration Lui's life support system will be switched off today after he suffered massive stroke symptoms. He fought a great battle but was not able to recover," the statement said.
"Our condolences go out to Lui's family, friends and Tigers."
Lui's family - parents, Jenny and Gino, and brother Joey - also released a statement through the club, saying: "Lui loved his footy. Lui loved the Tigers. Lui loved his mates and his team mates. Lui gave his best every time he played."
Just two days ago, Lui's mother wrote online that scans had shown there was "no change, which is positive".
"So far it's all been positive news. Keep praying xxxx," she wrote at the time.
In a separate incident on the weekend, another player, Damian Jobson, was left a quadriplegic after breaking his neck during a rugby league match in the Hunter.
The 35-year-old father broke his C4 and C5 vertebrae when a tackle went wrong as the Windale Eagles faced the University of Newcastle at Windale on Saturday.
He was flown to Royal North Shore in Sydney, where doctors informed his wife Brooke on Monday night that he had been left a quadriplegic.
"It's hard to say how we feel because we're still in shock and don't believe it," she said.
"I'm sure the time's going to come when it all sinks in.
"Damian can't talk or answer questions but he still has a good idea of what's going on."
