“The full weight of Sam Collins and Mitch Georgiades onto him. Hopefully, his shoulder is OK too. The way he landed on his shoulder….you hope he hasn’t done any structural damage to his shoulder.
Loading
“It’s about 200 kilograms coming down on top of him.”
Respected sports medic Peter Larkins had encouraging news for Carlton fans.
“He’ll be ok, I reckon,” he posted on X. “Chest hit – maybe head impact on turf also.”
Many believe a serious knee injury to Hawthorn’s Tony Hall, brought down by Hawks teammate Andy Collins at the MCG in 1989, lead to the demise of State of Origin football.
Victorian chairman of selectors Garry Lyon suggested Weitering’s trip to hospital was a precautionary move.
Garry Lyon during training on Thursday in Perth.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Lyon had argued against concerns in the lead-up that players would protect their bodies and treat this match like an exhibition contest, rather than a serious contest.
“The big clash with Jacob Weitering, who we hope is going to be OK, he’s off to the hospital,” Lyon said to Fox Footy at half-time.
“He’s been asking about the score, so I think it is precautionary. But it puts to rest the notion that these boys weren’t going to go flat out.”
Victorian coach Chris Scott on Friday also had a word of caution against any post-match hysteria during a press conference on Friday.
He conceded he would have his heart in his mouth when Victoria took on Western Australia, considering Geelong was represented by Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Stewart, Bailey Smith, Max Holmes and Lawson Humphreys.
“But no more than I will on Monday when we play a practice match against Hawthorn,” Scott said.
“I was just across the news of Tom Green’s (ACL) injury at GWS. And, you know, even talking with the guys, I think it’s a terrible thing. No one feels anything but sympathy for GWS and Tom in particular.
“But it just does highlight that these things happen at this time of year, whether it’s an inconsequential training session or State of Origin at Optus (Stadium).
“These things are risks, but one that clearly all the players and the coaching staff have been more than happy to take.”
Green suffered an ACL injury during an intra-club practice match on Friday morning. He wrenched his knee in a tackle.
More to come
