Central umpire Jack O’Neill steps up in BFL grand final after colleague Liam Clark receives accidental head knock

A Geelong umpire has had to step in for an injured colleague for the second time in a week, after a central official received a head knock in the BFL grand final.

A Geelong emergency umpire has had to step up for an injured colleague for the second weekend running, after a younger ump received an accidental head knock early in the BFL grand final on Saturday.

Teenage official Liam Clark accidentally collided with a player in the first quarter of the decider between Torquay and Drysdale at Grinter Reserve.

And the man who replaced him, Jack O’Neill, said Clark was rushed to the Epworth Hospital where he received five stitches but fortunately had no concussion symptoms.

“He’s in good spirits,” O’Neill said.

Central umpire Liam Clark was injured following an accidental head knock during the BFL grand final. Picture: Umpire AFL Barwon Facebook.

“He was actually back at local footy ... he went off with his dad to watch the end of the ‘GD’ game (between Thomson and Bell Post Hill).

“He was in and out of hospital pretty quickly.”

O’Neill, who was an emergency umpire for the BFL grand final, had only just finished officiating the reserves decider at Grinter between Geelong Amateur and Barwon Heads.

However, he said he didn’t have time to think about the monumental task ahead when he ran onto the ground.

“When we’re appointed to an emergency umpire position for a prelim or a grand final we need to be ready,” he said.

“For me it’s actually two in two weeks.

Jack O'Neill stepped up to officiate the BFL grand final after a first quarter injury to Liam Clark. Picture: Geelong Football Umpires League.

“I was running out at the GDFL (semi-final) last Sunday ... one of our guys went down with a calf injury.

“We didn’t have an emergency that day so it was just the two of us ... to finish off the last quarter.

“He was able to stay out there, but we just put him down towards the goalsquare and left him there.

“It’s something we need to be prepared for.”

O’Neill said his head hit the pillow hard on Saturday night.

“It was definitely a good sleep last night, although we were up at seven o’clock this morning, a few of us from the game went down to Eastern Beach for a bit of recovery,” he said.

“The legs are feeling good, all things considered.”

Originally published as Central umpire Jack O’Neill steps up in BFL grand final after colleague Liam Clark receives accidental head knock