and to head off those who would ban all contact sports as a matter of course. 7 games is ott, 3 would have been more proportionate in the circumstances.

Rubbish, have you seen the tackle? it goes on in every game and it always goes unpunished and rightly so, it was an accident and the tackle wasn't illegal.

McKinnon is just as culpable.

It's only a ban because of the injury, we might as well just turn it into tag and be done.

We've all played or at least most of us have knowing there's a chance of injury, this game [RL] has effected me, i now walk with a limp that will hinder me until i die. This ban is BS deflection of the highest. If not then i expect every tackle of this kind to be retrospectively punished...which it won't.

It's simple, if a tackler lifts a player above the horizontal, the player will obviously be travelling down head first and will be in danger of head injury. In this case the tackler who does the lifting should be sent off.

Would reducing the tackling line stop lifting????

Maybe it's a re-education of referees that is needed. Something along the lines of once the feet leave the ground, it starts to be come akin to tackling in the air, and regardless of players attempts to wriggle, offload or force back, held should be called.

From any tackles I can recall where players go above the horizontal, it all happens so quickly that I find it hard to believe that a ref could call held quick enough to stop it.

I've not watched the tackle as I really don't want to see someone's neck broke. But for those who have watched it, how long is there between feet of the ground and head on the floor??? If it's less than a second then there is little that can be done.

One of his feet doesn't even really leave the floor he just hops a bit and he only goes over the horizontal as he falls to the ground and the tackler has hold of one of his legs. It's not like he was picked up and tipped on his head more that he fell in an awkward position. It looks innocuous and similar tackles do go unpunished all the time. The ban is an over the top reaction.

At least a glimmer of light in the unrelenting doomINJURED Newcastle Knights star Alex McKinnon has spoken publicly for the first time since his horrific neck injury, revealing he is experiencing further movement in his arms and has feeling in his legs.'"

Praise the Lord, this is my biggest issue in rule changes, followed by 12 subs. The way these 2 changes pushed the game has never been for the better. It promoted athletes and not skill.