SYDNEY // Australia’s National Rugby League judiciary has suspended the Melbourne Storm prop Jordan McLean for seven weeks for a lifting tackle on Alex McKinnon that left the Newcastle back-rower with a devastating spinal injury.
The panel took less than 10 minutes to find McLean guilty of a “dangerous throw” charge after one of the most anticipated judiciary hearings in the sport. After successfully earning a guilty verdict, the NRL counsel Peter Kite asked the panel to ban McLean for between seven and 11 weeks because of the severity of McKinnon’s injury.
McKinnon, 22, remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition with a broken neck and faces the possibility of never regaining the use of his legs. He was brought out of an induced coma at the weekend following surgery last Tuesday for damage to his C4 and C5 vertebrae and been conscious since.
McKinnon began communicating with his family on Sunday after his assisted ventilation was removed.
McLean, also, 22, was expressionless throughout the one-hour hearing, refusing to watch any of the more than 30 replays of the three-man tackle gone wrong. His lawyer, Nick Ghabar, had pleaded not guilty to the “dangerous throw” charge, arguing McKinnon had been the victim of a “terrible and tragic accident”.
“There will be no winners from tonight, whatever you decide,” Ghabar told the panel before submitting his case for McLean.
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