When Jordan McLean joined into that tackle on Alex McKinnon, few realised how the two men’s careers would change forever.
One is in hospital and may never walk again.
The other has been handed a seven-week suspension and lumped with the sole responsibility for the tackle.
The judiciary and match review committee were both handed the unenviable task of grading and then hearing the defence of McLean. He was going to be suspended, of that there was no doubt.
However, the severity of that suspension was not foreseen. Personally I had assumed he’d either be handed a grade one or grade two dangerous throw charge, served one week and be back playing.
In my honest opinion, the judiciary has made an highly emotional judgement based primarily on the result of the tackle, rather than the tackle itself.
I saw the tackle as it happened, there was no malice and no intent to cause harm. In fact, it looked as though the Melbourne players were trying to get McKinnon to ground as soon as they realised they had him in an awkward position.
I have seen many worse spear tackles handed lesser suspensions. Richie Fa’aoso’s dual tackles on Greg Inglis netted him less and Luke O’Donnell’s tackle on Darius Boyd in State of Origin was also deemed less malicious.
I would also like to add that Jordan McLean was not the only player involved in the tackle. The Bromwich brothers were both involved and not charged. Essentially, the NRL has singled out McLean as the only factor involved that created the dangerous position.
I am neither a Storm or Newcastle fan, I am a fan of rugby league. I do not believe that McLean has been given a fair hearing in this case. There was a range of factors that led to McKinnon’s injury and Jordan McLean has been singled out for it.
The game has let McLean down in this instance and the judiciary has made a judgement, more on emotion and subjectivity, rather than the objectivity and transparency that they are supposed to represent.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
If there was ever a testament required to the success of the New Zealand Warriors, we might have seen it this last weekend passed.…
If people can lose their job, and clubs can face massive payouts, due to the behaviour of coaches, it will drastically change the way sporting teams in Australia will be run.
Many rugby league aficionados like Matthew Johns are saying this NRL season is the best year there’s been. Comparing seasons throughout the years is…
New coach Michael Maguire is considering as many as 50 players for the State of Origin series opener with not even captain James Tedesco…
All the team list information for Round 9.
NRL signings, contracts and rosters for the 2024 season and beyond.
