Former Leeds Rhinos captain Stevie Ward has described a recent UK Government summit on brain injuries in sport as a "positive experience".
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden and Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston have been gathering evidence from leading sports figures and governing bodies, who they will then encourage to make recommendations on how to improve player welfare.
Ward recently retired from rugby league at the age of 27 because of concussions. He attended the first virtual meeting on Tuesday along with other former professional sportspeople - including ex-Tottenham midfielder Ryan Mason, who quit football after fracturing his skull - and dementia campaigner Dawn Astle.
"It was a positive experience in the way that it feels like there's some action being taken," Ward told Sky Sports News. "I think we're in a time at the minute where there's a culmination of different anecdotes and different experiences from people across a range of different sports.
"I felt like the talk was part of the momentum. It was a privilege to be involved in it and I'm grateful that I can be part of the improvements going forward."
The second summit will call leaders from the governing bodies in football, cricket, rugby union, rugby league, boxing and taekwondo, alongside representatives from the Department for Health and Social Care and Department for Education.
The government's aim is to "ensure the sport sector is working together to carry out more research in this area and determine the extent of health impacts of occupational injuries from contact sports".
Ward added: "I think we need to get to an open understanding of concussion in sport - the effects of it, the symptoms of it, the different types of concussion - and the nature of what can come from getting repeated knocks and how we can better improve the care.
"That's where I think we want to go and I just feel if we can gather information from each sport - what's worked, what's not worked - then that's a good starting point."
PL concussion subs a 'massive step'
In football, the Premier League recently announced it will introduce permanent concussion substitutes from February 6.
Teams participating in England's top division - as well as the FA Cup, Women's Super League and Women's Championship - will be able to permanently substitute players who are diagnosed with, or suspected of sustaining, a concussion during a match.
Both sides in each game will have two such replacements available, as well as their three regular substitutions.
"It's a massive step and it's action," Ward said. "It's action on the field which makes a difference and this is, in effect, what's happening with football.
"It's going to take the pressure off making these decisions, these substitutes. You want your best players out on the field, but there's obviously a detriment to the win-at-all-costs mentality and the pressure to win.
"Bringing these substitutes in is going to lift that pressure and make a change to the culture and make people notice it as a vital part of player welfare going forward."
Ward: I feel hopeless at times
Ward retired due to concussions he suffered last year. The former loose forward, a two-time Grand Final winner, says he struggles with symptoms on a daily basis and has been told by specialists they may never go away.
He is now concentrating on making a full recovery and will also focus on his work with Mantality, which aims to provide assistance to those suffering from mental health problems.
"The migraines seem to have never left me. Whether that's made worse with the stress and emotion of retiring - it probably is," he said.
"It's been pretty tough. There's a lot of times when I feel a bit hopeless in a way because the symptoms seem to be persisting, but I'm staying strong.
"I've made it non-negotiable for me to meditate every day and to share that with people through the work I do with Mantality and get that mental health training regime going.
"Without that and the strong support network I've had, it would be a really different story. I'm looking for brighter days."