I will admit that I haven't seen the incident, and don't plan to watch it. But the rules are pretty clear: "Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play." The modern rules make no reference to winning the ball or not in such cases, or what the tacklers intent is - if the challenge is deemed to be a lunge that endangers the opponent it is a red card regardless. Whether the rules should say that, or whether there should be allowances for genuine efforts to win the ball, is up for debate. But that is what the rules say, and according to the rules Spearing deserved to walk - he's lunged with two feet and the lunge has carried him into the opponents ankle thus endangering the opponent. It was the same deal when Jonny Evans tackled Stuart Holden last season - he won the ball and there was no intent to injure or show his studs to the opponent. But he did have his studs up and it was a lunge, and as a result Holden was injured for six months.
You need to actually see it Swarbs, in real time. His feet aren't up going in to the tackle. They go up after the ball has gone, but purely as a result of natural momentum. For what it's worth.
