Manly Sea Eagles lay out defence of $5m lawsuit brought by former forward Lloyd Perrett
Manly has outlined its defense in a $5 million lawsuit filed by former striker Lloyd Perrett, claiming injuries he allegedly suffered after starting pre-season training out of shape and without a water bottle were the result of his own negligence.
Perrett launches Supreme Court case He claimed against his former NRL club last August that he was left “in a coma for two days” following a training session from which he could not recover. Perrett allegedly suffered exertional heat stroke, heat stress-induced seizure and psychiatric injury during running sessions at the Narrabeen Sports Complex on November 6, 2017, during which he was deprived of water.
Lloyd Perrett is suing the Sea Eagles.Credit: NRL Pictures
The manly players were required to complete three two-kilometre time trials, and Perrett collapsed on the third lap of the course during his third attempt. As a result, Perrett’s attorneys say their client suffered “disabilities” including seizures, poor heat tolerance, severe pain, fatigue, muscle degeneration, impaired cognitive ability, anxiety, moodiness and poor kidney, liver and thyroid function.
It was also alleged that the incident led to the premature end of Perrett’s NRL career and “loss of future earning capacity”, with sources not authorized to speak publicly claiming the former Junior Kangaroos co-captain and NSW Cup player of the year was seeking a payment of $5 million.
But the Sea Eagles’ statement of defence, filed with the court and obtained by this imprint, denies the club deprived Perrett of water and cited “contributory negligence” by the plaintiff, including “failing to adequately manage his health, weight and diet in the off-season”, “failing to inform the coaching staff of his condition/form during training” and “failing to bring his own water bottle to training”.
Sea Eagles’ Lloyd Perrett ‘contributory negligence’ claim
I. Failure to adequately manage one’s health, weight and diet during the off-season prior to training;
- Failure to properly train and prepare to participate in practice during the off-season;
iii. Failure to appropriately monitor one’s health, fitness and ability to participate in a training session;
- Not hydrating yourself enough before and during training;
- Failure to communicate his condition/condition to the coaching staff during training;
- Failure to determine when to take a break before and during the third attempt;
vii. Not bringing your own water bottle to training;
viii. Putting himself in a dangerous situation;
- Failure to take any reasonable care for its security;
- Not acting carefully;
- Failing to take any or all appropriate precautions for his or her own safety under these circumstances; And
xii. Not detecting, observing and not taking into account an obvious risk (the existence of which is not acknowledged).
Manly also claims that a statute of limitations applies in the matter and that, given that almost eight years have passed between the incident and the filing of the lawsuit, the motion to seek damages should be “terminated.”
Perrett made 16 first-grade appearances for Manly after the incident but claimed he was never the same player or person afterwards. He finished his career with 56 NRL matches for the Bulldogs and Sea Eagles. None of the staff who oversaw the session in question remained with the Sea Eagles. Manly declined to comment.
Perrett spoke about the physical and mental toll the incident took on him in an interview with this magazine in 2024.
