Collingwood star Jeremy Howe is sent to hospital after breaking his arm following sickening collision as devastated Pies teammates rally around stricken star during win over Geelong
Collingwood defender Jeremy Howe was in agony as he was stretchered off the MCG with a fractured forearm in the Magpies’ pulsating 22-point AFL win over Geelong.
Howe is in hospital and coach Craig McRae said he might need surgery.
Howe had a horrifying collision with Geelong small forward Tyson Stengle in the third term of Friday night’s eventful round-one clash.
After trailing by as much as 22 points in the third quarter, Collingwood roared back against the reigning premiers and won 19.11 (125) to 16.7 (103).
‘He’s such an important player, he’s a vice-captain, we all love him,’ McRae said of Howe.
Jeremy Howe was involved in a sickening collision during Collingwood’s game on Friday
The Pies defender reportedly broke his arm when contesting an aerial ball
‘So when you see one of the guys go down, one of the real good guys, that’s going to be a cost somewhere.’
New Collingwood captain Darcy Moore was emotional post-match as he paid tribute to his fellow defender Howe.
‘It’s pretty distressing and it’s pretty messed up. We have to forget about it and get on with the job,’ Moore told the Seven Network.
Howe and Stengle contested a high ball and the Collingwood player flew into the air from the impact.
He landed heavily on his left arm and play was stopped for several minutes as he received medical attention.
Howe needed the so-called ‘green whistle’ for some acute pain relief and the Seven Network chose not to replay the incident.
Stengle also had to leave the field from the impact of the collision, but was able to return.
The Magpies swamped Geelong with an eight-goal run from late in the third term and kicked five goals to none in the last quarter for an impressive win.
His Collingwood teammates rallied around him as he was stretchered from the pitch
Jordan De Goey, one of Collingwood’s best, put an exclamation mark on the win with a booming 50 metre shot for his third goal late in the last term.
It is Collingwood’s highest score since 2018, when they made the grand final.
‘I had great belief coming here tonight. I’m driving in, thinking I’m really excited for what could be, knowing we’ve done the work,’ McRae said.
The Cats edged out Collingwood by six points in last year’s epic qualifying final – one of the games of the season – on the way to the premiership, and this was another classic.
It was a feisty affair on Friday night with both sets of players coming to blows at the quarter time break. But Collingwood managed to rally and see out a huge 125-103 victory to get their 2023 campaign off to a flyer.