- Spear tackle
A spear tackle is a dangerous tackle in
rugby union ,rugby league andAustralian rules football whereby a player is picked up by a tackler on the opponent's side, and turned so that they are upside down. The tackler then drives the player into the ground head or neck first. InAmerican Football , a spear tackle (or simply 'spear') generally refers to a defending player initiating contact with another using their head in an attacking manner.Spear tackles are particularly dangerous and have caused serious injury [ [http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,21186153-29277,00.html Boy charged over spear-tackle | NEWS.com.au ] ] including spinal damage, dislocations [ [http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/26102005/3/new-o-driscoll-video-sparks-irb-spear-tackle-warning.html Yahoo! UK & Ireland Eurosport - Sport News | African Cup of Nations ] ] and broken bones in the shoulder or neck.
In 2005, former New Zealand international player
Jarrod McCracken successfully sued theMelbourne Storm side and playersStephen Kearney andMarcus Bai over a tackle that occurred on May 12, 2000 that he claimed ended his career. He was eventually awarded AU$97,000. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/league-star-awarded-97000-over-tackle/2006/11/23/1163871523845.html League star awarded $97,000 over tackle - League - Sport - smh.com.au ] ] [ [http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20808933-5006009,00.html Tackle made league star millions | The Daily Telegraph ] ] [ [http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200502/s1308580.htm ABC Sport - Rugby League - NRL players found liable for spear tackle ] ] Spear tackles are outlawed in all forms of the game, guilty players may face tribunals or judiciaries where they are dealt suspensions and possible fines.Often termed a "dangerous throw", the
National Rugby League (NRL) competition in Australia awards a penalty for players being lifted beyond the horizontal. Generally these tackles are also put "on report", meaning that in the coming week the judiciary is forced to review the incident and pursue the matter further if deemed appropriate.In the
Australian Football League (AFL), it is a reportable offence, and players found guilty face the tribunal and possible suspension with at least a two match ban. Despite this,Matthew Whelan has been cleared for spear tackles on several occasions andMal Michael performed a spear tackle onMitch Morton in 2007 which was cleared of any wrongdoing by the AFL tribunal and resulted only in a free kick. [ [http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=5195 News | Fletcher and Stanton in good shape | Essendon Football Club Official Website ] ]ee also
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Piledriver (professional wrestling)
*Grapple tackle - another controversial tackling techniqueReferences
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