Melbourne football director Frank Ponissi says the club will adopt an "ultra conservative" approach with Billy Slater and won't play the superstar fullback this week if there is the slightest doubt about him being ready to go.

The massive media and public debate over concussion in rugby league in general will, by nature, ensure there is a spotlight on the Storm's treatment of Slater, who didn't play last weekend after being knocked out by a late and high hit from Canberra forward Sia Soliola in the previous round.

Billy Slater is stretchered off after his concussion. Mark Nolan/Getty Images

Melbourne will play North Queensland in Townsville on Friday night.

"Billy will go through the standard protocols required to pass the concussion test and like always we'll err on the side of caution in doing that," Ponissi tells ESPN.

"The doctors will follow the normal protocols that are set out by the NRL and in a case like this, where the player was knocked unconscious, you err on the side of caution ever more so, because of the severity of the concussion.

"We're going to be absolutely ultra conservative. If there's no risk or concern whatsoever, he'll play, but if there is any slight doubt we'll hold him off for another week.

"We won't be rushing Billy back. He won't play unless he's 100 percent and that will come down to the medical staff, and the player as well. If both the medical staff and the player have no issues, he'll play."

The combination of the sight of Slater sprawled on the turf after being knocked out and the fact Soliola was not sent off, but merely reported, has further increased concern over concussions in general and heightened the debate over what can be done to limit them and how soon players should be allowed to resume playing after being knocked out.

It was revealed on the weekend that Parramatta will no longer select veteran hooker Isaac De Gois to play, even though he is contracted until the end of next season, as a "duty of care" issue to protect his future wellbeing after he had sustained multiple head knocks over the years.

Stories coming out of the US regarding the effects, both proven and suspected, of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy on former NFL players promote the concussion discussion.

Ponissi says the Storm would take the utmost care with Slater or any other player regardless of whether there was a huge media and public debate at the time or not.

Billy Slater Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

"Whether there was zero coverage or lots of coverage it wouldn't make any difference, we follow the standard protocols to the nth degree," he says.

"It's all based on our medical staff. Billy has to satisfy everyone 100 percent - not 90 percent, 100 percent - and if he does we'll go from there.

"He was rested last week and we'll start the process of him being considered to be allowed to play today (Monday) and a decision will be made later in the week."

Slater appeared all set to make a comeback in round one of this season from a totally different injury, after his second shoulder reconstruction, but didn't feel quite right in himself and chose to delay, sitting out until round three instead.

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Ponissi says the club didn't pressure him to play then and would never do it now.

Slater is expected to be named in the Storm team on Tuesday afternoon, but that is no guarantee he will play. Clubs now name 21-man squads to cover all possibilities and, under the rules, if Slater wasn't named he couldn't come in late from a pre-existing injury.

Ponissi says that because the Storm are travelling this week a decision on whether Slater will play is likely to be made on Wednesday, providing he had passed the necessary protocols in the meantime.

"We don't want to put Billy on a three-hour flight just to go up there and not play, we can't see the sense in that," he says. "If he passes, he'll get on a plane, and if he doesn't he'll stay back in Melbourne.

"He did some light running on Saturday and felt pretty good and he'll now have to go through a series of protocols over the next few days.

"But, as I said, we're going to go with an ultra conservative approach, so if Billy runs out on Friday night it means he has passed everything with flying colours, the medical staff are very happy and he feels fine within himself."