Video: Tim Broomhead suffers horror leg injury after colliding with goalpost at MCG
MAGPIE Tim Broomhead faces up to a year on the sidelines after breaking his leg in a sickening collision with the goalpost while cult figure Kayle Kirby is in hospital after collapsing in the VFL.
Collingwood
Don't miss out on the headlines from Collingwood. Followed categories will be added to My News.
LUCKLESS Magpie Tim Broomhead faces up to a year on the sidelines after suffering a horrendous broken leg in an act of desperation in the opening term of Saturday’s clash with Greater Western Sydney at the MCG.
And the Giants didn’t emerge unscathed in what proved to be a game of attrition, losing key midfielder Tom Scully for an extended period with a suspected broken ankle.
REPORT: PIES BRAVE BUT INJURIES TAKE TOLL AS GIANTS SECURE WIN
UNDER PRESSURE: PIES IN WORST SLUMP IN CLUB HISTORY
HOT PROSPECT: WHY SUNS MUST SELL FARM FOR LYNCH
BRETT DELEDIO: I THOUGHT MY CAREER WAS OVER
It got worse at VFL level with small forward Kayle Kirby collapsing behind play.
Kirby was rushed to hospital after suffering an irregular heart rhythm in the Magpies’ VFL clash against North Melbourne at the Holden Centre.
Kirby, who made his debut for the Magpies in the final round last year, was in a stable condition at the Epworth hospital on Saturday night, where he will undergo further tests.
“It wasn’t a contact injury, the details are still coming to light, (but) it was some form of irregularity in his heartbeat,” coach Nathan Buckley said.
“He is at (the hospital) now and is apparently stable. I think the game was stopped for 40 minutes, so it was relatively serious.
“Talking to the doc, that was all the information they had, that he is going OK at the moment.”
In a cruel blow for Broomhead, who is in the last year of a contract, he threw his left foot out in an effort to soccer through a goal for Collingwood at the 13-minute-mark of the first quarter.
He didn’t make contact with the ball, but his outstretched foot smashed into the goalpost, instantly fracturing his leg.
As Magpie fans celebrated good fortune of Tom Phillips’ kick trickling through for a goal, it wasn’t long before attention switched to Broomhead, who was face down in agony behind the goals.
The vision of him banging his hands on the turf in excruciating pain with his left leg contorted beside him, indicating a serious break, was heartbreaking to watch.
“It is terrible luck for a young bloke who is still trying to prove himself,” Buckley said.
“Obviously ‘Broomy’ is a well loved and well respected member of our footy club, so it impacts (on the players), there is no doubt. ‘Brodes’ (Brodie Grundy) is one of his best mates and I thought (he) really responded ... at the next ruck contest, he attacked really well.
“It has an effect (on the team), because you really feel for the bloke.”
Instantly, in the Triple M commentary box, former Tiger and Bulldog Nathan Brown knew what it meant, having had his own career so rudely interrupted by a similar type break.
He forecast 12 months on the sidelines for the 24-year-old Magpie.
Broomhead had been late inclusion into the side after Ben Reid withdrew with a hip injury, and was desperate to make an impression after fighting through a series of soft-tissue injuries which have restricted his AFL career to only 36 games since his 2014 debut.
He was in tears as he taken from the ground on the motorised cart, using the green stick in an effort to relieve the pain.
He was then taken from the ground to Epworth Hospital.
Broomhead is the second Magpie to be out for the rest of the season while in the final year of a contract, following on from veteran Tyson Goldsack.
Absolute carnage at the G. Well Broomy looks quite happy on the green whistle. And some say afl players are overpaid.. righto
— Dane Swan (@swandane) 31 March 2018
Buckley had to craft a pint-sized, makeshift forward line for much of Saturday’s game, given Mason Cox’s one-week suspension, and the fact players such as Reid, Jamie Elliott, Jordan De Goey, Daniel Wells, Alex Fasolo, Tyson Goldsack, Chris Mayne and Levi Greenwood were not playing for different reasons.
Moore, who looked lively in attack early in the game before coming off, is doubtful to take on the Blues next week, but Reid and Cox are expected to be available.
Even if he probably had some right to, Buckley wasn’t lamenting his team’s ill-fortune with injury once again, a recurring theme in recent seasons, saying if the effort is the same in coming weeks, there would be wins in store.
“It is not really about how tall or small you are, it is about how it blends together with your ball use,” he said. “I thought that was better. We were more adventurous with the ball in our back half, in particular. We were prepared to bounce a bit more.
“It did tell when our legs ran out, and we couldn’t break the lines as much.
“It is the same result in terms of win and loss, (but) you have a very different feel about the effort that was brought to the table.
“We can still be a lot better with ground level ball and cleaner with the ball in hand. There is still massive improvement on that, and we need to find it. But that needs to be a minimum standard for us going forward.”
He praised the likes of Tom Phillips, one of the Magpies’ best behind Grundy, and James Aish, for barely having a rest in the second half.
He hopes to have “a few soldiers” back to take on the Blues on Friday night.
Another ambulance was called to the MCG when Scully went down in a tackle not long after Broomhead’s injury, and the Giant was forced to stay at the ground until the third medical transport arrived at the MCG.
He, too, was then whisked away to hospital for treatment.
Giants football manager Wayne Campbell said the club feared Scully had fractured his ankle.
“It doesn’t look good,” Campbell told Fox Footy.
Pies track watch: De Goey latest, Daicos brushes off foot concerns
Jordan De Goey sent a shudder through Collingwood’s camp after limping off the track with a calf complaint and there’s relief not only for him, but another superstar Magpie.
‘Carlton needs more’: Are Blues kids holding them back?
At some AFL clubs, young guns form the nucleus of a premiership challenger. At others, fans are nervous about whether their investment will pay off. Where does your team sit ahead of the 2025 season?