Alex McKinnon possibly Quadriplegic - Mclean guilty of dangerous throw - 7 weeks

[Noname36]

I don't think any of the Storm players wanted to deliberately break his neck, but it was completely disgusting the way Smith carried on when everyone at the ground could seem to tell that something bad had happened. It's not like he was trying to get a suspension downgraded, he was trying to argue a blatant penalty. There's a time and a place and that wasn't it.

I just pray the kid is alright. The big future yada yada stuff aside, it's awful seeing anyone (let alone of that age) get an injury like this.

 

[BunniesMan]

Nobody knows yet if he'll be ok or not. The spinal cord has not been severed but there can be a level of damage without severing it. That level of damage could have an impact. Hopefully he is fine as soon as possible.

What annoyed me was the idiotic analysis of the commentators. You could clearly see he was panicked, there was what I interpreted as him reaching for his mouth guard and being unable to get to it with a clearly alarmed look on his face. And then the dickhead commentators are like "he moved a bit, he'll be fine".

These meatheads should not be giving medical opinion when they are clearly ignorant.

 

[hineyrulz]

Firstly i hope Alex is ok, i don't think the tackle was that bad an accident but Snowden also got 7 weeks for an accident. my biggest gripe with the whole thing was the classless piece of shit Smith arguing the point while anyone could see McKinnon was seriously hurt. You can take the boy out of the logan..........

 

[AuckMel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-BmKXU12yE

 

[oikee]

The refs fault for not calling held.
I though at the start of the year we heard they were going to call held if two men in the tackle had him contained. ?
Slowly we are starting to see all over again a season where the refs are inconsistent and causing angst amounst the fans by reffing games differently.
One game is super fast, the next is super slow.
They penalise one team for slow tactics, then allow the next team to play slow.
No wonder Slats is walking away, he dont know weather he is Arthur or Martha.
Too many headknocks.

Hope McKinnon is alright, good player, very tough.

 

[betcats]

Yep Smith was a grub last night.

 

[Pete Cash]

Yeah Smith with hindsight might not have carried on so much because he now looks pretty classless carrying on about a dude with a potentially career impacting injury.

 

[oikee]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-BmKXU12yE

Thanks for that, looking at that i think all the storm players are not at fault.
Just a accident .

 

[Card Shark]

Yeah Smith with hindsight might not have carried on so much because he now looks pretty classless carrying on about a dude with a potentially career impacting injury.

He didnt need hindsight PC. Everyone at the ground & on TV could see it was terribly serious...& he wanted to argue about a penalty.

f**k me that was a dog act! He should be cited too!

Hope McKinnon is ok. Was an illegal tackle but not intentional. On the basis of the injury, the storm guy around the legs has a lot to answer for. Some say the injury shouldn't matter but that's not practical.

 

[typicalfan]

He was arguing the tackle not the injury. A bit like people derailing a thread about Alex to slip the boot into Smith. Time and place and all that.

I hope Alex is ok but as I do not fully understand his injury I am not going to pretend to be an expert.

It looked horribly tragic on the ground.

 

[edabomb]

Smith's argument had no basis. McKinnon made a reflex action based on having his face heading towards the turf - the action of the Storm players to put him in a position to make such a reflex action was prior to this action.

That is like pushing somebody off a second story and blaming them for their broken arms/legs as they used them to break the fall.

It was a boneheaded argument, which also managed to show a complete lack of class and appreciation for the circumstances.

 

[perverse]

You blokes are kidding yourselves if you think that isn't worth time on the sidelines. It's an obviously illegall tackle that has gone very wrong. Snowden got done for 7 weeks last year for what was barely more than Kade stopping dead and dropping his shoulder lazily.

If you get 7 weeks because a bloke broke his face on your shoulder, how much is a broken neck worth?? The judiciary stated that the severity of the injury absolutely factored in on that occaision. If there is anyconsistency at all, we should be expecting 5 weeks minimum imo.

 

[Frailty]

The tackle was an accident, and there are plenty of tackles like that in the game. Only difference here was Alex tucked his head. If he hadn't, the tackle would have been declared legal, and play on called.

 

[hineyrulz]

He was arguing the tackle not the injury. A bit like people derailing a thread about Alex to slip the boot into Smith. Time and place and all that.

I hope Alex is ok but as I do not fully understand his injury I am not going to pretend to be an expert.

It looked horribly tragic on the ground.

There was a time and place for Smith as well, and being an Aussie captain no less you would expect a little more more. But he has shown throughout his career what sort of person he is. Thats all i will say on the matter i just hope McKinnon's injury isn't as bad as first thought and he can go on to continue his career.

 

[jamesgould]

Having watched it again, I can't lay any blame to the players up top, but the guy who put his arm between the legs and lifted has caused the whole situation. As that's an illegal act according to the laws of the game, for safety reasons no less, and it's resulted in a catastrophic injury, I don't see how they can do anything other than throw the book at him.

 

[Pete Cash]

The tackle was an accident, and there are plenty of tackles like that in the game. Only difference here was Alex tucked his head. If he hadn't, the tackle would have been declared legal, and play on called.

But he did end up in that awful position through being lifted past the horizontal which is illegal. I might be wrong because it wasn't a tackle I wanted to watch over and over again though.

Now the Snowden precedent was set with accidental illegal plays leading to bad injuries. I don't think that should be the case and each act of illegality needs to be judged on action not outcome but here we are.

 

[Noname36]

The tackle was an accident, and there are plenty of tackles like that in the game. Only difference here was Alex tucked his head. If he hadn't, the tackle would have been declared legal, and play on called.

What was he supposed to do? They had his arms pinned and he was heading face first into the ground.

 

[nick87]

Horrible situation. Wish him all the best and hopefully the news is more positive in the coming days. It was a very scary situation.

My stance on the tackle hasnt changed. It was a clear penalty, maybe if there is carry over points/loading for prior offenses, a low grade lifting charge will see a game suspension, but there wasnt much in it other wise

Just one of those unfortunate accidents that can happen. The Storm player can not be blamed for that, he lifted sure, and that's worthy of a penalty and maybe a charge, but he didnt drive, he didnt lift him that high, there no malice or intent, just a lifting tackle where the tackled player got in a bad situation and landed really badly.

It's not McKinnons fault either. I dont for one second think he put his head into the ground to get a penalty. I think it was his natural reflex, and it unfortunately put him into a worse position.

 

[STORM.99/07]

Earlier in the game Ben Hampton was put in a dangerous position..play on.

 

[jezmond]

Earlier in the game Ben Hampton was put in a dangerous position..play on.

Thanks for the input Cam!