Richmond winger Sam Banks has been knocked out after a horrific mid-air collision with Western Bulldogs ruckman Tim English during the third quarter of their clash at the MCG.
The incident happened right in front of Richmond's bench, with English pushed under the ball by Tiger Noah Balta into Banks as he was running back with the flight of Jack Macrae's kick up the line.
English then accidentally flipped Banks mid-air, with the 21-year-old somersaulting and landing directly on his head, knocked out by the impact.
READ MORE: 'Upset' Djokovic floored by bottle from crowd in Italy
READ MORE: How 'horrible' experience buoyed Seebohm in Paris pursuit
READ MORE: Olympics selection loophole leaves Aussie gutted
Nankervis rushed to Banks' aid as he lay on the MCG turf.
Eight of Richmond's medical team attended to Banks, who was immediately put into a neck brace and onto a stretcher.
The entire Richmond team went to Banks as he was driven off the ground as he came to.
The Tigers confirmed that Banks was "up and talking" to club Doctor Greg Hickey in the rooms after the hit.
"Clearly a pretty distressing view when someone goes so limp on the ground like that," Tigers great Matthew Richardson said at three quarter time.
"Good news from the Richmond rooms is that he is okay, bit of a headache, but okay."
Banks will enter the league's concussion protocols, ruling him out for a minimum 12 days, meaning he will miss at least their round 10 clash against Brisbane.
"Adem Yze looks in a state of concern," Fox Footy commentators said.
The terrifying incident raises more concern around the protection of the head in the game.
On Friday night, Geelong forward Jeremy Cameron waved away doctors after a heavy fall on his head from a marking contest, later to have confirmed to have suffered delayed concussion symptoms on Saturday morning.
It comes as Melbourne midfielder Angus Brayshaw was forced to medically retire on the eve of the 2024 season due to the head trauma he has suffered.
Just weeks ago, Collingwood premiership defender Nathan Murphy was also forced to retire because of the long-term risk of further concussions and head trauma.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.