Buzz: More than $1m has been raised for Alex McKinnon — but we must wipe out these horror tackles
MORE than $1m has been raised for Alex McKinnon — but we must wipe out these horror tackles. BLOG WITH BUZZ FROM 9AM.
Phil Rothfield
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IT started out like any regulation tackle. Nick Wilson, an experienced front-rower, is carting the ball up and making the hard metres he is renowned for on the tough playing fields of bush footy.
This is Dubbo CYMS v Dubbo Westsides. Three defenders move in to halt his progress.
They then lift his body into a vertical position and drive him head first towards the ground.
His team gets a penalty but that’s it. There is no sin-binning, no send-off, no citing, no judiciary. Nothing.
Lucky Wilson has been around for a while. He’s old school, knows how to look after himself, and braces the fall with his left arm.
He is not seriously hurt and is embarrassed by the attention that this shocking tackle has created in his home town.
Because this is Alex McKinnon round, I thought it was worth writing about.
The NRL, the Knights, the 16 clubs, their members and fans have all rallied magnificently this weekend.
Well over $1 million has been raised to help Alex live the best possible life. More importantly, it has raised awareness of the dangers of lifting tackles.
Newcastle was as special as it gets on Sunday, the town stopping to stand and salute one of its own.
The entire weekend was about Alex McKinnon. From Melbourne to Cronulla, Parramatta to Brisbane.
Out of respect our superstars Greg Inglis, Johnathan Thurston and Cameron Smith all wore the No. 16 jersey.
Wristbands sold out at most venues and online shops. The NRL has had to order an extra 100,000 of them to cope with the demand of those who want to chip in.
This is absolutely wonderful stuff.
But let’s not lose sight of what really needs to happen out of all this.
These horrible tackles have to stop. Proper action needs to be taken.
Those who up-end opponents like in this incident in Dubbo need to be properly punished.
We don’t want another Alex McKinnon story ever again.
His lasting legacy should be the total eradication of the spear tackle.
ORIGIN COMPO CLAIMS
IT’S time for the NRL to introduce proper compensation to the clubs that provide Origin players.
When the Roosters lose Michael Jennings and Daniel Tupou, it takes $800,000 out of their salary cap. It cost them more because their replacements are on first grade bonuses.
The same with every club, bar Penrith and the Warriors.
As colleague Dean Ritchie pointed out last week, Origin players will miss a total of 69 club games this year from injuries and suspensions.
The NRL is making all the money but it’s the clubs paying for it.
SHORT & SWEET DROPOUTS
I CAN never work out why teams don’t take more short line dropouts.
The opposition normally returns the ball to the 30m out on the first tackle and 15m out on the second tackle.
So why not at least put yourself into a contest for possession in which you are probably a 30 per cent chance of getting the ball back at a time when your defence is fatigued.
If you don’t get possession, so what. You’re in the same area where the attacking team would be on their second tackle anyway.
TIGERS IN NEED OF AN OVERHAUL
SOMETIMES you think Benji Marshall should be back at the Wests Tigers as coach, CEO and chairman like he used to be.
The current Wests Tigers’ management is a shemozzle and the sooner NRL CEO Dave Smith sends in his independent directors the better.
The treatment of Mick Potter is a disgrace. The hiring of renowned non-winner Brian Smith to conduct a coaching staff review is a bad joke.
The lack of public support for Potter from influential skipper Robbie Farah is wrong.
The manoeuvring behind the scenes involving assistant coaches Todd Payten and David Kidwell is the talk of Campbelltown, Concord and Leichhardt.
Don’t worry about the result against the Bulldogs on Sunday. But it must have been embarrassing for CEO Grant Mayer to even walk into the dressing room afterwards.
This club doesn’t need a new coach. This club needs a management overhaul.
The Tigers have the best and most promising young juniors in the game.
Potter has done nothing to suggest he is not the man to lead resurgence in the next couple of years. He just needs everyone pulling in the one direction.
Those who don’t support him should leave. They have already obliterated the highly respected Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens. Whether it’s Robbie Farah or any anyone else, they should either support the coach or leave.
HIGHLIGHT
THE Alex McKinnon round. Let’s make it an annual event - like cricket’s Jane McGrath Test - to raise money for all players whose careers have been cut short by injuries.
LOWLIGHT
THE Johnathan Thurston try from a blatant strip on Friday night. Unbelievably it showed we have some officials in the video box who don’t even know the rules.
MAKE A STAND
FIFA is hardly the world’s most credible sporting organisation but surely even Sepp Blatter will realise that Russia should not host the next soccer World Cup as a result of the MH17 atrocity.
SHORT ON NUMBERS
NO one was complaining because it meant extra dollars for Alex McKinnon but the Sharks crowd on Friday night against the Cowboys was closer to 4000 than the ‘official’ attendance of 9366.
SHOOSH
WE’RE hearing former rugby union and soccer official Matt Carroll has been identified as the man to replace Jim Doyle as the NRL’s chief operating officer.
NOT A CHANCE
THE chances of Robert Lui joining the Cronulla Sharks next year are conservatively one billion to one. The club now has a ‘no-dickhead’ policy and wants nothing to do with him.
Originally published as Buzz: More than $1m has been raised for Alex McKinnon — but we must wipe out these horror tackles
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