St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt has been cleared of serious damage but will remain in hospital for observation after a sickening collision with Adelaide's Brodie Smith in the first quarter of Saturday's match at Adelaide Oval.
Riewoldt and Smith collided in an accidental front-on head clash 26 minutes into the game and the Saints' captain lay motionless as the game was held up for six minutes and he was taken off the ground on a stretcher.
Riewoldt seemed to be unconscious before he even hit the ground. Both he and Smith will likely miss the next round because of concussion.
The Saints' skipper was admitted to Royal Adelaide Hospital for observation as a precaution; there are concerns for Smith because he also suffered heavy concussion against Collingwood earlier this season.
Both sides were left reeling due to injuries, with Crow Matthew Jaensch and Saint Jack Lonie also among those sidelined.
Lonie was subbed off with concussion in the first term, while Adelaide have braced themselves to hear news that Jaensch has torn a cruciate ligament in his left knee and will be out for 12 months.
Adding to St Kilda's woes – apart from the 46-point loss – were pre-match injuries to Jarryn Geary (thigh) and Leigh Montagna, who felt hamstring tightness during the warm-up.
Adelaide coach Phil Walsh said losing Jaensch was a huge blow. "I thought he has been in really good form," he said.
"I don't want to lose Matthew Jaensch, but this is the caper we are in. Someone steps up ... they have a saying the NFL; next man up and that's what we have got to do as well."
Like Walsh, St Kilda coach Alan Richardson acknowledged both sides had injury concerns and didn't make excuses.
Richardson admitted he felt that terrible moment when Riewoldt went to ground and lay motionless in regard to what came to mind first – his concern for his all-important captain's well-being or what move to make next to adjust.
There was a deep sense of concern on Richardson's face when he said he probably felt both emotions – the mindset of a coach in this tough situation.
"Initially you look up at the screen and straight away ... it's a bit insensitive, but are we likely to get him back before we see him unconscious before he hits the deck?" Richardson explained.
"Then you get a bit concerned about a possible fracture... and then you start to think, what are we going to do, who is going to play forward?
"We ended up having a crack at Sam Fisher as a forward … you are starting to think what can we do to maintain the plan that we went in with? That's where it really swings to.
"When you are an inexperienced group and you lose Riewoldt, Montagna and Geary – leaders – that's significant. It was our inability to handle the Crows' pressure that beat us in the contest way too often ... we fumbled on critical occasions, a lot of those easy goals their forwards were able to get out the back of our defence as a result of our inability to stop it at the source when we had good numbers at the ball."
Walsh will take a close look at Adelaide's reserves on Sunday and perhaps above everything will assess whether Reilly O'Brien, a 201-centimetre centre half-back and ruckman, is ready to be elevated from the rookie list to offer support for No.1 ruckman Sam Jacobs and a very much depleted defence. It is just one of the many problems Walsh needs to address as the Crows' injury list continues to mount.
Riewoldt and Smith collided in an accidental front-on head clash 26 minutes into the game and the Saints' captain lay motionless as the game was held up for six minutes and he was taken off the ground on a stretcher.
Riewoldt seemed to be unconscious before he even hit the ground. Both he and Smith will likely miss the next round because of concussion.
The Saints' skipper was admitted to Royal Adelaide Hospital for observation as a precaution; there are concerns for Smith because he also suffered heavy concussion against Collingwood earlier this season.
Both sides were left reeling due to injuries, with Crow Matthew Jaensch and Saint Jack Lonie also among those sidelined.
Lonie was subbed off with concussion in the first term, while Adelaide have braced themselves to hear news that Jaensch has torn a cruciate ligament in his left knee and will be out for 12 months.
Adding to St Kilda's woes – apart from the 46-point loss – were pre-match injuries to Jarryn Geary (thigh) and Leigh Montagna, who felt hamstring tightness during the warm-up.
Adelaide coach Phil Walsh said losing Jaensch was a huge blow. "I thought he has been in really good form," he said.
"I don't want to lose Matthew Jaensch, but this is the caper we are in. Someone steps up ... they have a saying the NFL; next man up and that's what we have got to do as well."
Like Walsh, St Kilda coach Alan Richardson acknowledged both sides had injury concerns and didn't make excuses.
Richardson admitted he felt that terrible moment when Riewoldt went to ground and lay motionless in regard to what came to mind first – his concern for his all-important captain's well-being or what move to make next to adjust.
There was a deep sense of concern on Richardson's face when he said he probably felt both emotions – the mindset of a coach in this tough situation.
"Initially you look up at the screen and straight away ... it's a bit insensitive, but are we likely to get him back before we see him unconscious before he hits the deck?" Richardson explained.
"Then you get a bit concerned about a possible fracture... and then you start to think, what are we going to do, who is going to play forward?
"We ended up having a crack at Sam Fisher as a forward … you are starting to think what can we do to maintain the plan that we went in with? That's where it really swings to.
"When you are an inexperienced group and you lose Riewoldt, Montagna and Geary – leaders – that's significant. It was our inability to handle the Crows' pressure that beat us in the contest way too often ... we fumbled on critical occasions, a lot of those easy goals their forwards were able to get out the back of our defence as a result of our inability to stop it at the source when we had good numbers at the ball."
Walsh will take a close look at Adelaide's reserves on Sunday and perhaps above everything will assess whether Reilly O'Brien, a 201-centimetre centre half-back and ruckman, is ready to be elevated from the rookie list to offer support for No.1 ruckman Sam Jacobs and a very much depleted defence. It is just one of the many problems Walsh needs to address as the Crows' injury list continues to mount.
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