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

[Meth]

Was the penalty blown before Alex was on the ground not moving? Playing devils advocate here... I think what Smith was getting at was that if he wasn't injured, there wouldn't have been a penalty.

No, because they were immediately concerned for McKinnon's welfare.

 

[Generalzod]

So the young kid is paying the price for what the NRL should have done a long time a go and ban gang tackles, talk about a Pontius pilate act by the NRL.

 

[Springs]

So the young kid is paying the price for what the NRL should have done a long time a go and ban gang tackles, talk about a Pontius pilate act by the NRL.

3 men is hardly a gang tackle. Banning 3 man tackles would be stupid as all hell.

 

[Generalzod]

3 men is hardly a gang tackle. Banning 3 man tackles would be stupid as all hell.

So what's you definition of a gang tackle...

 

[Springs]

So what's you definition of a gang tackle...

More than 3?? Occasionally 3 in some tackles.
Banning 3 man tackles would be absolute crap. Dummy halves and big props close to the line would score every time.

 

[Apey]

Respectfully disagree Apey. In essence pleading guilty would in some ways be an admittance of intent which clearly was not the case. I would say 99.9% if not 100% of tackles that go over the horizontal are very much accidental and there's absolutely no malice/intent in any of them whatsoever, so what player or club in their right mind would plead guilty when it was never their intention to deliberately hurt another player?

While I can see the angle you're coming from, I think If he plead guilty he's admitting to that and even blind Freddie can see that's obviously not the case. If they/he pleads guilty and he would've got at least twice as long if not more I reckon so I really can't see how the club made it worse for him. That's just my opinion though, given the nature of the judiciary and how varying the sentences are they dish out who knows how the f**k they would've ruled.

I was probably getting mixed up with the early guilty plea where you can get a reduced sentence.

Still, I don't think pleading guilty implies intent at all, unless the charge carries an implication of intent itself.

 

[georgesnmith]

3 men is hardly a gang tackle. Banning 3 man tackles would be stupid as all hell.

agreed

if they do that it would be a massive mistake

banning the shoulder charge would be minor in comparison

might as well turn the game into AFL if they go down that path

 

[Masoe_eats_babies]

It's clearly about sending a message

If Jordan has to cop a 7 week ban for the next guy to think twice about lifting a players legs higher than his shoulders in a tackle, then it is a small price to pay indeed.

It needs to be wiped out of our game

Disagree. The only way that the NRL can send any sort of message that players will listen to is if they're penalised and suspended consistently for similar tackles that don't result in freak accidents.

The fact of the matter is that coaches and players know the chances of the tackle going wrong is about 1 in a million, therefore if they know the NRL will only act when serious injury occurs they will be more than happy to chance their arm and continue lifting in the same manner - why wouldn't they?

Unless the NRL back up this ban with a considerable number of follow-up bans for tackles just like it that do no damage then we know this 7 weeks is nothing more than a crude PR stunt to appease the media. There needs to be week-to-week vigilance and suspensions.

Did people stop bracing for impact after Snowden was banned?

I think anybody who believes a token 7 week ban will make players think twice about lifting is off in the clouds

 

[Generalzod]

agreed

if they do that it would be a massive mistake

banning the shoulder charge would be minor in comparison

might as well turn the game into AFL if they go down that path

The game is like watching Greco - Roman wrestling, When I was growing up watching players like Micheal Speechly tackle around the boot lacers was the reason why I loved rugby league...Now its a complete bore...........

 

[Johns Magic]

Ultimately, lifting tackles aren't necessary and should be outlawed, if not heavily penalised.

I've never been a fan of lifting people especially past the horizontal but this accident never would have taken place if the NRL didn't allow an untold number of identical challenges tens of times each game.

It sounds like we are on the same page here fundamentally.

I think a suspension was the right answer as long as(and I hope) they continue to suspend lifting tacklers. I think a broken neck is a good time to make a stand.

You obviously have no faith in the NRL continuing to suspend players, in which case I'd agree that McLean being suspended for so long is harsh.

The ball is now in the NRL's court.

We both know that lifting tackles are an unnecessary and ugly part of the game. Punishing them properly should see them being phased out as a wrestling tactic by coaches.

 

[TimmyB]

I'm sorry but what evidence is there that 3 man tackles increase the risk of this sort of injury? That is the sort of statement that requires evidence, not reactionary bullshit following a horrible injury. If it were that obvious it would have been pointed out before the incident, not retrospectively.

To be honest, I'm inclined to think one on one tackles would increase the risk of this sort of tackle. A one on one tackle around the thighs is going to be extremely hard to control once it tips anywhere near past the centre of gravity. Some of the worst spear tackles I've seen have involved one on one tackles or two man tackles in which the second man plays an extremely limited role.

 

[TimmyB]

I also don't want to sound callous but isn't it possible that neck injuries are an endemic risk in rugby league? Sure we should mitigate the risk, and lifting tackles should potentially be more heavily sanctioned. Let's not pretend even with the harshest penalties they won't ever happen.

 

[Pugzley]

Jesus, would you look at twitter. All those #RiseforJordan hashtags starting to popping up.


https://mobile.twitter.com/search/?q=%23riseforjordan&s=hash

 

[TimmyB]

Jesus, would you look at twitter. All those #RiseforJordan hashtags starting to popping up.


https://mobile.twitter.com/search/?q=#riseforjordan&s=hash

Disgusting.

 

[oikee]

Stay strong Alex.
This media is full of crap. Between Paul Kent and his B.S and the way the media has looked for every negative story over the years, they cant wait to find a bad story to write about.
If i was everyone, now is the time to not let this issue go.
Alex deserves our complete attention and respect. The media and other reporters seem to think they can feed off our code and try to kick it while we are in heartfelt loss at whats happened.
I mean come-on, MMA or kickboxing trying to make out they are safer than our code, put it on primetime then ya wankers.
And gobshouts like the bandanna boy and his deadbeat mates trying to ban gang tackles, no worries, ban them in union as well.

No, it's time league fans stuck it up to this media who are so engrossed in bad reports, they have lost their way.
"THE MEDIA HAVE LOST THEIR WAY"
This proves it.

 

[oikee]

I think everyone needs to chill out, banning tackles and trying to cotton wool players will do more harm than good.
The code already cracks down on dangerous tackles, and more so recently since the concussion rulings.

I have watched rugby league for a long time, and this is the first time i have witnessed a accident of this proportion, changing rules is a little premature.

Lets worry about Alex,.
7 weeks seems right for now. Lets just see what happens, i am sure Jordan will be visiting Alex.
Put the rope away, call off the Lynch mob.

 

[God-King Dean]

I'm sorry but what evidence is there that 3 man tackles increase the risk of this sort of injury? That is the sort of statement that requires evidence, not reactionary bullshit following a horrible injury. If it were that obvious it would have been pointed out before the incident, not retrospectively.

To be honest, I'm inclined to think one on one tackles would increase the risk of this sort of tackle. A one on one tackle around the thighs is going to be extremely hard to control once it tips anywhere near past the centre of gravity. Some of the worst spear tackles I've seen have involved one on one tackles or two man tackles in which the second man plays an extremely limited role.

I also don't want to sound callous but isn't it possible that neck injuries are an endemic risk in rugby league? Sure we should mitigate the risk, and lifting tackles should potentially be more heavily sanctioned. Let's not pretend even with the harshest penalties they won't ever happen.

You've nailed it.

From when you're a kid, you're taught the correct way to tackle is get down low, put the shoulder into the hip/thigh, & drive.

You get two guys running at each other with this tackle techique, it's only a matter time a person goes over the horizontal.

We can come up with as many ways to stop this from happening as possible, but literally the only way to stop it is ban tackling around the legs - and that's not going to happen.

No need to change anything IMO. It was just a horrible accident. No need for knee-jerk changes.

 

[Bronco Rob]

You get two guys running at each other with this tackle techique, it's only a matter time a person goes over the horizontal.

We can come up with as many ways to stop this from happening as possible, but literally the only way to stop it is ban tackling around the legs - and that's not going to happen.

No need to change anything IMO. It was just a horrible accident. No need for knee-jerk changes.

The authorities just need to put a blanket ban on all lifting in gang tackles. You cannot possibly ban more than 3 in a tackle which some are calling for which is absolutely absurd.

I still would love to see an around the legs tackle as a dominant tackle and if a defensive player's skills are good enough with their levers, they can get a player on their back without lifting.

 

[firechild]

I really don't get the mindset of the people who say that the outcome shouldn't have effected the penalty. People have been saying for ages that shoulder charges shouldn't have been banned but throw the book at players when it goes wrong. Now we have a situation where a seemingly innocuous tackle has gone wrong and people don't want the outcome to be factored in.

The "there's been 20 worse tackles in the last week" rubbish is just that. There have been no worse tackles in my lifetime though there have been many that were much more dramatic in appearance. This injury is EXACTLY what the lifting rules are set to prevent. I have no issue with the 7 weeks (though I would have had no issue with 4 or 12 either). Hopefully the NRL looks at methods of preventing this from happening again.

 

[franklin2323]

agreed

if they do that it would be a massive mistake

banning the shoulder charge would be minor in comparison

might as well turn the game into AFL if they go down that path

Inu's was a 2 man tackle so can happen... The point is NRL will want to be seen to make it happen even though 30,0000 tackles get made a year and there's no incidents like this