For the first time in history all NRL players will undergo a heart scan before they take the field next year.

Fairfax Media can reveal NRL and under-20s players will undergo electrocardiogram (ECG) screening before the start of next season, in a move funded by the governing body.

Proactive: NRL chief medico Paul Bloomfield. Credit:sportsphysician.com.au

Players may also undergo MRI scans of the brain in the pre-season and be re-tested if they suffer a concussion as a way of tracking any damage to the brain.

These developments came after club doctors met the NRL's chief medical officer Paul Bloomfield on Saturday. During the five-hour meeting at the NRL's Moore Park headquarters, a range of topics including concussion and prescription drugs were discussed.