Boy, 12, suffers neck injury in rugby league game

A 12-year-old boy is being airlifted to a Newcastle hospital after he suffered a neck injury during an inter-school rugby league game in New South Wales' Hunter region today.

The boy "heard a crack" in his neck when he was going in for a tackle during a game at Hawks Nest, a Westpac Rescue Helicopter spokesman said.

He has been flown by helicopter to the John Hunter Hospital with a suspected spinal injury. 

With AAP.