Karl Lawton sent off in first ten minutes of Manly-Souths game after spear tackle

Manly forward Karl Lawton has been dismissed in the opening stages of Manly v South Sydney in Gosford after a spear tackle.

Lawton was effecting a strong legs tackle on Souths captain Cameron Murray, and technically, it was a near-perfect tackle – but went far beyond the horizontal and resulted in Murray landing directly on his head.

It was a clearly dangerous tackle and nearly inevitably under the current iteration of the rules that Lawton would be sent from the field.

It is the first time that Manly have had a man sent off since Addin Fonua-Blake was dismissed against Newcastle in 2020.

The Fox League half time show concurred with the referee’s decision.

“This is the tackle that we want to stamp out,” said Greg Alexander. “When a player gets another player in an awkward position, they can’t go on like that.

“Karl Lawton drove him into the ground head first. Now, Cameron Murray twisted his head and landed on his shoulder, but it could have been a little different.”