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

[Pugzley]

There were 2 spear tackles on Ben Hampton in the first half of the game that the ref let go.If the ref would have penalised the knights players earlier then maybe this accident wouldn`t have happened.

Nope. When that f**king dickhead McLean put his hands between McKinnon's legs and lifted him up, even though his two Melbourne Storm teamates already had McKinnon wrapped up, then McKinnon would not be contemplating on life on a wheelchair.

 

[Apey]

that head movement wasn't natural and was not an instinctive protective motion.

If that is true than Newcastle are up shit creek - that advice is so wrong.

genius alert

"Fairfax Media was told that Newcastle players were taught to tuck their heads and roll to protect themselves when lifted in a tackle but McKinnon is thought to have become disorientated after McLean tipped him off balance after being held upright by Jesse and Kenny Bromwich."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...neck-injury-20140325-35gkb.html#ixzz2x2Yilley

Are you sure that's a good idea though? Because some moronic nobody on the internet thinks otherwise.

In that situation, rolling is the only option if they don't want a broken neck. The tucking of the head is to make them land on the back of the neck

Nah you're meant to stick your head out apparently.

In the very immediate aftermath and without the benefit of replay this was my opinion too. (And expressed with an equal lack of class).

But after watching the incident a few times, and with the benefit of hindsight, it's pretty clear that he was disorientated.

We shouldn't underestimate the impact of having one bloke grab you between the legs, and with the help of two other 100kg men, lift and then twist you somewhat in the air at speed. It would be both disorientating and frightening.

Hence why he made the miscalculated decision to tuck his head in. It was clearly intentional, but was due to disorientation and an expectation that he was about to be lifted well above the horizontal. Unfortunately he wasn't, and as a result his decision to tuck his head in saw his neck crushed under the weight of four bodies.

As for the tackle, I still don't think this was even close to the worst lifting tackle in that game. It was just a freak accident and if it's anything more than a Grade 2 then we'll have a lot of players suspended this year, including another 4 or 5 out of that game alone.

good post.

I believe this is wrong, I have been on the end of a few - more spear tackles - and your natural instinct is to arch your back, neck and head in the opposite direction, get your arm (or arms) out to brace for the impact with the ground. By placing your neck against your chest, you are creating a grabble tackle situation but with the immovable ground not a player's arm, chest or shoulder.

If Newcastle were advising players to do this, than any court case or judiciary against Melbourne or their players would and should be thrown out. The Newcastle club is the one at fault, it was absolutely the wrong advice.

:lol: you are such a f**king gronk

you are evidence of why doing this is a very, very bad idea. Not only could you break your neck but you risk serious mental impairment and could become as dumb as keyboard armchair expert magpie4ever

 

[_Johnsy]

There were 2 spear tackles on Ben Hampton in the first half of the game that the ref let go.If the ref would have penalised the knights players earlier then maybe this accident wouldn`t have happened.

New to RL I see, the only possible reason for your ignorance & lack of knowledge.

Typical Storm fan, unwilling to accept responsibility when it is solely your teams.

FMD

 

[georgesnmith]

feel sorry for mckinnon but its a freak accident

people get injured every day in their own jobs

none of it was intentional, hope the storm player isnt made a scapegoat with a massive ban

the tackle should be graded as all other similar tackles, the injury that occurred afterwards shouldnt play a part in the vedict, but of course it will

 

[magpie4ever]

genius alert



Are you sure that's a good idea though? Because some moronic nobody on the internet thinks otherwise.



Nah you're meant to stick your head out apparently.



good post.



:lol: you are such a f**king gronk

you are evidence of why doing this is a very, very bad idea. Not only could you break your neck but you risk serious mental impairment and could become as dumb as keyboard armchair expert magpie4ever

I rest my case, a clueless turd whose only responses are personal attacks.

DROPKICK.

 

[_Johnsy]

feel sorry for mckinnon but its a freak accident

people get injured every day in their own jobs

none of it was intentional, hope the storm player isnt made a scapegoat with a massive ban

the tackle should be graded as all other similar tackles, the injury that occurred afterwards shouldnt play a part in the vedict, but of course it will

No it wasn't an accident, someone walking along and getting shat on by a bird is accidental.

A portion of the decision making by the tacklers was intentional.

How is the 3rd tackler lifting McKinnon not intentional ?

Did someone take control of his faculties and make the physical decision to lift for him ? No

I don't think it deserves more than a week off, or possibly no game missed but that tackle deserves to be seen/overviewed by the MRC.

Regardless of the intent, a defender had his arms between his legs and lifted above the horizontal. Even a purple biased blind knobwad would agree with this ever so simple premise. Based on the current rules, It was an illegal tackle.

 

[Dragons01]

I still fail to understand the 'McKinnon tucked his head in argument' he only tucked his head in because of the position he was placed in by the tacklers. This all happened in a matter of seconds, not a lot of time for thinking or reacting to being put in that position.

 

[Apey]

Your response is so stupid, debating it properly is not worth it.

An internet nobody who appears to have some sort of mental deficiency or brain damage (perhaps as a result of his own dumb suggestions) thinks he's more qualified to give advice to elite footballers in this situation than people employed by a professional rugby league club :lol:

 

[magpie4ever]

I think the NRL has a major problem, due the Alex's serious injury they need to rightly or wrongly make an example with regard to punishment from a public perception viewpoint.

But if Newcastle where offering advice as stated, Melbourne will win this in the judiciary or, if required, the courts.

 

[magpie4ever]

Your response is so stupid, debating it properly is not worth it.

An internet nobody who appears to have some sort of mental deficiency or brain damage (perhaps as a result of his own dumb suggestions) thinks he's more qualified to give advice to elite footballers in this situation than people employed by a professional rugby league club :lol:

Rugby league clubs never make mistakes - yeah, you are dumber than your avatar and signature.

CLUELESS.

 

[Apey]

But if Newcastle where offering advice as stated, Melbourne will win this in the judiciary or, if required, the courts.

They might even call you to the stand to testify as an expert witness.

 

[_Johnsy]

I think the NRL has a major problem, due the Alex's serious injury they need to rightly or wrongly make an example with regard to punishment from a public perception viewpoint.

But if Newcastle where offering advice as stated, Melbourne will win this in the judiciary or, if required, the courts.

Umm no they don't. They just need to apply the rules and the subsequent grading system. The player who lifted may not even miss a week. I don't think anyone would have an issue with that. Consistency is all that is needed in applying the subsequent grade.

Is the "if Newcastle where offering advice as stated, Melbourne will win this in the judiciary or, if required, the courts" based on your extensive legal knowledge ?

where exactly?

Have another 3 scotches & go to bed pops. Now you're just embarrassing yourself.

 

[magpie4ever]

I still fail to understand the 'McKinnon tucked his head in argument' he only tucked his head in because of the position he was placed in by the tacklers. This all happened in a matter of seconds, not a lot of time for thinking or reacting to being put in that position.

Because, it was a deliberate action and caused the effects of the tackle to be magnified by who knows what - I feel devasated for this young man and also for young McLean. The advice was wrong - watch it again - I can't, he withdraws his arm from the brace position and tucks his head into his chest.

 

[Apey]

Rugby league clubs never make mistakes - yeah, you are dumber than your avatar and signature.

CLUELESS.

You're right you probably do know better than the professionals. If only the club knew about you and your tribulations they could have avoided this mess!

 

[Nightward]

But if Newcastle were advising their players to place their head on their chest, they were wrong and, therefore, at fault. I'm no expert at bio-mechanics but that advice was always going to end up with a serious injury.

The advice they gave is actually medically sound. If you're being spear tackled, trying to avoid impact to the head and neck and divert it to the shoulders and back is about the best mitigation you can hope for as a player in that position.

The problem here is that though a spear tackle was initiated, it wasn't followed through on, so the instinctive attempt to get his head down lead to his neck basically being folded over when he hit the ground. What you appear to be missing here is that it was a response to being put into a dangerous position; if he hadn't been lifted into what looked like it was going to be a spear tackle, he wouldn't have tried to duck his head.

Regardless of this, it was still an illegal play and needs to be looked at. Honestly about the best thing that can come of this horrible situation is that a new set of expectations regarding lifting in tackles are developed, clearly communicated to players and coaches, and that they are enforced rigorously so we never see the like of it again.

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

Welp, this thread went to shit in a real hurry.

If I were the judiciary, I would give Mclean 4 weeks. Not necessarily to punish him but to give him a chance to get his head straight and if necessary, some time for the Storm to organize him some counseling. 4 weeks should also be enough to keep the media off the NRL's back.

 

[betcats]

Because, it was a delirable action and caused the effects of the tackle to be magnify by who know what - I feel devasated for this young man and also for young McLean. The advice was wrong - watch it again - I can't, he withdraws his arm from the brace position and tucks his head into his chest.

You're the only one so far who thinks that advice is wrong. I wouldnt know if its wrong or not, but you'd think if you were even half right with all the press this is getting someone else would of said it.

 

[Apey]

The advice was wrong

You should ring up the club and let them know they've been misinformed and misled all this time.

 

[magpie4ever]

Umm no they don't. They just need to apply the rules and the subsequent grading system. The player who lifted may not even miss a week. I don't think anyone would have an issue with that. Consistency is all that is needed in applying the subsequent grade.

Is the "if Newcastle where offering advice as stated, Melbourne will win this in the judiciary or, if required, the courts" based on your extensive legal knowledge ?

where exactly?

Have another 3 scotches & go to bed pops. Now you're just embarrassing yourself.

The NRL need a scalp (public perception) and not a 1 week suspension.

And for someone who has made as many posts as you, I would suggest you have maybe, twenty years on me - time to change your adult nappy.:lol:

 

[TheFrog]

It's not the angle of the lift that matters, it is what happens after that.

By way of comparison, Adam Docker was charged with a Grade 1 dangerous throw this weekend. The angle of lift was much higher than the McKinnon one, but the tacklers appeared to realise they were in trouble, and dropped him as gently as possible. The tackled player had time to roll onto his back. Because it was a fairly high lift, there was no question whatsoever about the penalty or the putting on report. I thought Docker would get a week or two.

The McKinnon tackle was just over the horizontal, but you had three players driving the tackled player as his neck was bent with extreme force. It is truly sickening and not a good advertisement for the way the Melbourne club play the game.