Collingwood defender Jeremy Howe has suffered a sickening injury in the Magpies Round 1 blockbuster against Geelong at the MCG on Friday night.
The Magpies started 2023 where they left off last year, overcoming an early deficit to hit the front and claim a thrilling 19.11 (125) to 16.7 (103) win over the reigning premiers in a high scoring affair.
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But the match was soured by a horrific incident in the third quarter when Howe broke his arm while attempting an intercept mark.
Geelong’s Tyson Stengle was poised to mark a high ball but Howe, a renowned high flyer, launched himself through the air.
He collided into Stengle’s back and tumbled down onto the MCG turf, with his body weight landing on his arm.
Howe immediately knew he had broken his arm and was in excruciating pain.
The incident was so horrific the host broadcaster opted not to show replays of Howe’s fall out of respect.
He was attended to by Collingwood’s medical staff and stretchered off the field on a medicab after several minutes of lying on the turf.
“How he came down, his full body weight was on his arm when he came down,” Luke Hodge said on Channel 7.
“This is the risk players put their body through. Howe flies for a ball, he puts himself at risk every time. You don’t want to see stuff like that. Stengle going back with the flight.”
Commentator Brian Taylor said: “The commitment there was amazing. It’s worse than a normal break, let’s put it that way.”
Jude Bolton said: “On ground level we heard that hit from here. That was huge. Stengle going back, Howe eyes for the ball. When they hit the ground, we could actually hear it vibrate.”
“It’s a sick feeling as a teammate,” Richmond legend Matthew Richardson said.
“It can really affect you. That’s what they do now. Howe came off his own man to impact that.
“It looked like Stengle was going to take an uncontested mark at one point and Howe just made up that much ground. They sacrifice themselves for the good of the team.”
Stengle also left the field and entered concussion protocols.
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Earlier, Geelong defenders Tom Stewart and Sam De Koning were injured in the first quarter, but De Koning returned to the field and played out the game.
Collingwood trailed at every change but produced a vintage late surge, kicking eight consecutive goals to hit the lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Magpies were 22 points behind at one stage in the third quarter but the comeback victory over the Cats sends a massive statement that last season’s narrow wins were no fluke.
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