RIP: Spear tackle

Remember the old days, rugby league fans? Remember those State of Origins, when big Marty Bella would run into a wall of sky blue jumpers on the first tackle, be picked up, pointed towards the heavens, driven a kilometre backwards and then slammed on his melon? Ah, the memories. Ah, the spear tackle, our old friend.

Well someone put on John Lennon's Imagine and crack open the 21-year-old port, for those days are over. Gone. Forever. May the speak tackle rest in peace.

The NRL has sent the spear tackle in the same direction as the dodo. "Dangerous throws", them call 'em these days. Any defender that lifts an opponent beyond the horizontal can expect a tap on the shoulder from a referee, and then the match review committee and if they don't take an early plea than expect the finger from the judiciary. Brisbane prop Shane Webcke was charged for a dangerous throw against a Storm player on Sunday: he was the 29th player charged this season. Last year, 24 players were charged during the entire year.

Commonsense needs to prevail in this important debate. It goes without saying - or charging innocent players - that spear tackles are dangerous. A spear tackle, under the Old Testament definition, is when a player picks up another and spears him, like a spear, into the turf, in a spear-like fashion. Dead-set widow makers, they are. The NRL defines them a little different, these days. Any tackle that goes beyond that horizontal makes you a filthy mongrel attempting to put an opponent in a wheelchair, and we all know that is not the case. Webcke pulled out of his tackle on Storm winger Jake Webster when he knew that he was in trouble, as have many players this season. Doesn't matter, the game's law enforcers say. Webcke's pleaded guilty, escapes a week off because of his good record, but next time he'll go for much longer.

Here's the deal: rugby league tackling lends itself to lifting opponents. You are taught as a whippersnapper to drive into the opponents waist and lift upwards. In the current climate, the play the ball is king and you want to slow down your opponent getting up so you drive him backwards, onto his back. Sometimes, in a high impact game that is being played at zillion miles an hour, things will go awry. The match review committee should be differentiating between intentional dangerous throws and those that have occurred through circumstances. Right now, they're putting a red line through everyone's name who doesn't have a set square out there and accidentally go beyond the horizontal.

Farewell, spear tackle, old friend. You had to go. But the NRL should be careful not to eradicate what has long been the great part of a great game: great bloody tackles.

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