Western Bulldogs superstar Sam Darcy injures his knee against the Geelong Cats at GMHBA Stadium
Updated ,first published
Western Bulldogs star Sam Darcy suffered a serious knee injury on a dirty night against the Cats at the GMHBA Stadium, dealing a devastating blow to the club’s title hopes.
The massive forward fell to the ground clutching his left knee as he walked towards the ball in the second quarter, while the Bulldogs suffered carnage on the injury front with Tom Liberatore suffering a concussion and key defenders James O’Donnell and Rory Lobb suffering hamstring injuries.
The Bulldogs’ shocking run overshadowed the Cats’ superb performance as they thoroughly destroyed their opponents, with key striker Jeremy Cameron scoring seven first-half goals to help his side take a 57-point lead at half-time.
He waited until there were just eight seconds left in the shootout before scoring his 10th goal. It was the second time in his career that he scored that point. He had to go through a score review before the goal was awarded, but arguably his biggest smile was reserved for defender Jake Kolodjashnij, who had previously scored just the fifth goal of his career.
Geelong were already in control of the game before Darcy’s injury, as they dominated the zone and were 32 points ahead at the first break.
Geelong eventually ran out 75-point winners as they celebrated Mark Blicavs’ 300-game milestone and Kolodjashnij’s 200th in style following a lull in the third quarter.
Bailey Smith was outstanding against his former club and Max Holmes was equally damaging. Oisin Mullin blanketed Marcus Bontempelli (who also sprained his knee at one stage) and restricted him to just 14 disposals. Entering the game under an injury cloud of his own, Ed Richards struggled mightily for the Bulldogs.
But the biggest blow was the loss of Darcy. Bulldogs football manager Matthew Egan told Fox Footy at half-time that they would await scans on Saturday before revealing the extent of the injury.
“The mechanism didn’t look very good, but we can’t confirm everything,” Egan said.
“Unfortunately, I said before that there was a serious knee injury here and we think it was the anterior cruciate ligament, but it wasn’t like that.
“So we have to be positive and wait for the scans.
“He was trying to help the boys tidy up in the rooms and it looks like he’s climbing on the bench.
“So that’s the kind of character he is, and let’s hope this is positive news for us.”
Darcy punched the ground before getting help from the playground. He managed to limp down to the rooms to have his knee tested. He took off his boots as he stood with the forward group at half-time. Several of his teammates and coaches gave him a consoling handshake or pat on the back.
The incident had cast a pall of silence on the crowd, with the Bulldogs’ flag hopes immediately collapsing following a possible anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Darcy had started the game at the back but was playing forward when the incident occurred.
Darcy suffered a knee injury last season but returned after missing two months with hyperextension. The injury to the same knee was diagnosed as a “impact fracture” and the ligament was stretched.
The Bulldogs already have ruckman Tim English and defender Connor Budarick on the sidelines for their game against Sydney on Thursday night while Cody Weightman continues his recovery from a long-term injury.
Geelong will return to Adelaide to play Port Adelaide as their season gets humming along.
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