NRL’s concussion safety guidelines were applied to the letter of the law by Brisbane after forward Sam Thaiday was felled, and the Broncos skipper had no issues with being forced from the ground.

Thaiday was accidentally kneed in the head by giant Warriors winger Manu Vatuvei during the Broncos’ 10-8 NRL win on Friday night.

He wanted to remain on the field, but was overruled by Brisbane’s trainers and medical staff.

Thaiday was taken to the sideline, assessed by the team’s doctor who checked his jaw and his responsiveness before allowing him to return to the action.

It was a far cry from earlier this year when Wests Tigers star Benji Marshall stumbled and staggered around the field and played on after copping a heavy head knock against St George Illawarra.

That decision was criticised by a number of medical experts, including the NRL chief medical officer Ron Muratore, which led to a review of concussion guidelines for players suffering bad head knocks.

As Thaiday’s body thudded to the ground it was feared he had broken his jaw, such was the contact.

“I didn’t even want to come off in the first place,” said Thaiday who had total recall despite the heavy blow to his head.

“You want to stay out there but at the end of the day the better decision for the team and myself was to come off.

“I had a chat to the doc on the sideline and he gave me the OK to go back on and I felt good myself to go back.

“I didn’t want to risk anything, I didn’t want to go back out there and be a burden on the team in a tough and tight game and let the boys down as well.”

Thaiday said the doctor had checked his jaw thoroughly and made sure he was in no danger before letting him return to the game.

“The doc always does those tests, make sure your teeth line up and that you can bite properly so they looked after me properly,” he said.