AFL round 15: Geelong defeat Melbourne 78-63, lose Jeremy Cameron to concussion

Gary Rohan appeared distressed after he accidentally knocked out teammate Jeremy Cameron, yet Cats coach Chris Scott was full of praise for his performance afterwards, leading the Cats to victory.

MELBOURNE – JUNE 3, 2023. AFL Round 12. Tom Stewart of the Cats celebrates a 4th quarter goal with Jeremy Cameron during the match between Western Bulldogs and Geelong at Marvel Stadium on June the 3nd, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Michael Klein. . Photo by Michael Klein.

Geelong coach Chris Scott was left “really proud” of forward Gary Rohan after he was “the most dangerous player on the ground” and steered the Cats to a clutch victory despite accidentally knocking out teammate Jeremy Cameron.

Cameron was stretchered from the field and taken to hospital after a first-quarter collision on Thursday night’s win over Melbourne, when Rohan’s shoulder collected Cameron’s face and knocked him out.

Scott said post-match he had no update on the Colman medallist’s condition but he hoped it wasn’t serious.

Cameron will miss next Friday’s clash with Sydney due to concussion protocols.

“I certainly haven’t had any indication that it’s a horrible situation,” Scott said.

“Any time one of your players needs to be taken to hospital, even if it is for observation, it leaves us all a little bit shaken.”

Cameron was stretchered off the field after the friendly fire. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Rohan appeared distressed after the incident but managed to play a vital hand as Geelong ran over Melbourne for a crucial 15-point victory.

The electric forward booted a long-range goal minutes after Cameron was taken from the field and finished the night with three majors, including a brilliant running goal to seal the game in the final term in front of a delirious home crowd at GMHBA Stadium.

Scott said Rohan was “someone I admire” for his willingness to play a team role and to show the mental strength to play on after the friendly fire hit.

“I don’t generally individualise … but to my eye Rohan was the most dangerous player on the ground,” Scott said.

“Because he is the person he is, it did rattle him because he is not a sociopath. He has some empathy for one of his best friends who he’s accidentally knocked out.

“The way he could refocus on what the team needed was very admirable.

“He was really rattled by it as one would expect but his approach and maturity to really attack the game (was admirable) and if anyone won the game for us it was him so I am really proud of him, and others as well.”

Rohan bounced back to play a starring role in the Cats’ win. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Geelong will wait on the match review officer for a first quarter incident involving vice-captain Tom Stewart.

The defender pushed Demon Jack Viney while Viney was clearly feeling for his shoulder in pain, but Viney returned to the field minutes later and played out the match.

Thanks to a powerful six-goal final term, the Cats brushed the Demons aside late in a wet night in Geelong.

“We felt for big parts of the game things were just going against us … once you lose one of your best players so early, especially in those circumstances it can put everyone on the back foot,” Scott said.

MATCH REPORT: CATS OUTLAST DEES DESPITE SUPERSTAR LOSS

Geelong lost another key soldier but won the war for its season in a brutal clash with Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium tonight.

The Cats will be without champion forward Jeremy Cameron for at least a week after he was knocked out cold in “friendly fire” early in a match that reached heights of intensity rather than skill.

But just when they neared the abyss at the final change, the Cats unleashed their withering best to breathe life into their spluttering season.

And it came with passionate fury.

After five goals in three quarters, they smashed and grabbed their way to six in 20 frenetic minutes to begin the final term.

Gary Rohan was in the action all night. Photo by Michael Klein.

Brad Close was great all night, but played key roles in at least two of the surge of goals as Geelong stormed home by 15 points.

At one end, Sam De Koning capped his own magnificent game with some key touches as the Demons rallied.

Then at the other, Mark Blicavs provided a rare moment of clarity with a classic wet-weather “speccy” to seal the deal.

And amidst it all, athletic “villain” turned hero Gary Rohan put the finishing touches on the victory with a goal after outpointing Stephen May to set off a mighty celebration.

It was in stark contrast the hush of two hours earlier when Rohan’s shoulder inadvertently knocked out his good mate Cameron cold.

The Cats, already enduring a lengthy injury list, will miss their champion forward for at least a week after he was taken to hospital with concussion.

Cameron had been in a one-on-one marking contest with Jake Lever at centre half-forward in the first term when Rohan flashed in from his right, contacting his teammate’s head with his shoulder.

Tanner Bruhn was superb for the hosts. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Play was stopped for five minutes as doctors tended to Cameron before taking him off on the mobile stretcher. Geelong officials later confirmed he was responsive and in good spirits in the rooms before being taken to hospital.

Melbourne had looked the likely winner when it took a seven-point lead into the final quarter, built on a healthy advantage in contested possessions.

But with Tanner Bruhn playing his best game in the hoops, capped by two goals of his own, the Cats stood tall in the clearances when needed.

AS YOU WERE, BOYS

The crowd had barely caught its breath from the Jeremy Cameron injury when it appeared another superstar was in trouble.

The normally bulletproof Jack Viney was left clutching his right shoulder after a pack dispersed on centre wing midway through the first term.

At first glance, it appeared serious and perhaps not ideal for Cats acting captain Tom Stewart who shoved the exposed Viney to the ground after the fact.

But replays showed there was no untoward contact and that Stewart’s secondary contact was, although not chivalrous, a long way from brutal.

Viney went from the ground temporarily, but returned minutes later and appeared in no obvious discomfort.

Gary Rohan attends to Jeremy Cameron. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

YOU’RE KIDDING, RIGHT?

Surely it was only in jest, but remarkably there was a small chorus of “boos” when Gary Rohan next touched the ball after his accidental collision with teammate Jeremy Cameron.

Rohan took an uncontested mark in the centre circle a minute after play resumed, only to hear a few moans from the crowd, presumably intended as comic relief after such a serious injury.

Remarkably as Rohan left the ground after what was effectively the sealer in the final term, he was cheered like an Olympic gold medallist – all presumably forgiven.

PICK YOUR MOMENT

Safe to say the first half won’t appear in Kysaiah Pickett’s memoirs if and when he eventually writes them.

But the flashy Demon forward certainly put in a contender for the match highlight with a sensational touch late in the second quarter.

Pickett, without the ball, nimbly weaved his way through a pack after a stoppage near the goalsquare, then sunk the slipper for a perfectly timed “soccer” goal from nowhere.

We won’t mention it was his second kick for the night!

SCORES

GEELONG

3.4 4.7 6.11 11.12 (78)

MELBOURNE

2.1 4.8 5.10 8.15 (63)

VOTES

3: Close (GEE)

2: Bruhn (GEE)

1: Rohan (GEE)

BEST:

Geelong: Close, Bruhn, Rohan, De Koning, Blicavs, Duncan.

Melbourne: Petraca, Salem, Smith, Viney, Rivers.

GOALS:

Geelong: Rohan (3), Bruhn (2), Hawkins, Stengle, O.Henry, Z.Guthrie, Blicavs, Duncan.

Melbourne: Pickett (2), Smith (2), Fritsch (2), Van Rooyen, Petracca.

INJURIES:

Geelong: Jeremy Cameron (concussion) replaced by substitute Jack Bowes in first quarter.

Melbourne: nil.

CROWD: 19,617 at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong.