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Watching the live result of the three-man tackle on Newcastle Knights player Alex McKinnon just before half time last Monday night was sickening.
It’s now been a week since what has been called “a terrible, terrible nightmare”, “tragic”, and “a devastating workplace accident”.
But to describe it as an accident, when the 22-year-old is in an induced coma with a broken neck, his future under a huge cloud, is not recognising that what happened should never happen again.
Lifting is never an accident and must be banned for two reasons – stating the obvious it’s highly dangerous, but just as importantly, totally unnecessary.
Invariably the lifter comes in late after two or three defenders are in the tackling process.
To lift can only be of two minds – to inflict pain and/or dislodge possession. There are no other possible reasons.
Yes, rugby league is a tough contact sport, there’s none tougher. Yet it has been watered down by banning the shoulder charge.
But a shoulder charge is angelic compared to what McKinnon suffered as the result of a lift.
So don’t blame Stormer Jordan McLean for the lifting. Coaches condone lifting, other than spear-tackles, otherwise we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
And don’t blame McKinnon for ducking his head that magnified the end result. He should never have been put in that position in the first place.
Blame John Grant, chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission, and its CEO Dave Smith.
Why has it taken Grant, and Smith, six days of silence instead of moving swiftly in the ban direction?
Grant loves the limelight, he thrives on it. I’m surprised he hasn’t been in front of a battery of television cameras all week.
No, only silence, while McKinnon just lies there in his induced coma.
It makes you want to throw up.
Interestingly, having watched a fair bit of league and rugby over the last two days, only on a couple of occasions has a defender thought about going through the lifting process, and bailed out early.
There’s a message in that. Now, Grant and Smith, make it official. And rugby can do the same.
And if there’s any doubt about it, make the edict count.
Any defender who lifts should cop an automatic red card, an automatic two-month suspension, and an automatic $20,000 fine.
No ifs, no buts. No arguments.
Then we won’t have any more injuries like McKinnon’s.
Let us keep him in our thoughts that he may live a full life after this, even if it means he can no longer play the sport he loves.