Gary Rohan's 'sickening' clash with Jeremy Cameron prompts AFL furore

Jeremy Cameron was taken from the ground in a stretched just minutes into Geelong's Friday night game against Melbourne after a sickening clash with teammate Gary Rohan. Cameron copped a knock to the head from his teammate before his head hit the turf as he fell, prompting a seven-minute delay in proceedings as he was attended to by medical staff.

The crowd roared as Cameron offered a thumbs up as he was stretchered off, with Rohan delivering on Cameron's request to 'go and win the game', securing an important 11.12.78 to 8.15.63 victory over the Demons that kept their top eight chances intact. Rohan had apologised to Cameron for the inadvertent hit, to which the star forward reportedly replied 'don't worry about it'.

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Rohan didn't let his teammate down, booting a game-high three goals, including a late sealer to deliver the Cats an important 15-point win. The wet conditions at Geelong's home ground were to Rohan's benefit, his third goal coming after he was able to beat Demons defender Steven May to a loose ball in forward 50 to send the home crowd wild.

Cats defender Tom Atkins said after the game that it was the perfect response to such an unfortunate incident, describing Cameron's response to Rohan's apology as 'classic him'. Geelong sit ninth on the AFL ladder with the rest of the round yet to come, an alarming prospect for other sides outside the top four.

“It‘s always tough. First and foremost, you’re really worried about your mate and you just want him to be OK,” Atkins told Fox Footy.

“But I actually just heard before that Gary Rohan apologised to him when he was on the stretcher and he said something to the effect of: ‘I don‘t care mate. Just go and win the game.’ That‘s sort of the mentality that we had.

"We know that Jez wouldn’t want us to be stressing for the rest of the game and lose it. It’s classic Jez really. That’s why he’s such a legend around the club … Hopefully he’s all good.”

Despite his match-winning effort, Rohan came under substantial criticism from AFL fans on social media, many of whom suggested the small forward would be facing a lengthy suspension had he hit Demons defender Jake Lever instead of his own teammate.

Geelong coach Chris Scott offers Jeremy Cameron update

Geelong coach Chris Scott said Cameron was in good spirits, but was held in hospital overnight for observation. He said that while he wasn't expecting any 'horrible' news to emerge from the situation, he said it was the kind of incident that would leave any AFL team 'shaken'.

"I don't really know (how Cameron is). He has been taken to hospital, and that can sound dramatic, but I haven't got an update yet. That'll come in time," Scott said.

"I certainly haven't had any indication that it's a horrible situation, but any time one of your players needs to be taken to hospital, even if it's for observation, (it) leaves us all a bit shaken."

The result balanced Geelong's season record at 7-7 in a year when their resolve has been regularly tested. Scott was full of praise for Rohan, who won some critical contests, including the one-on-one battle with May in the final quarter.

"Gary Rohan was really rattled by (the Cameron injury), as one would expect, but his approach and maturity to really attack the game ... if anyone won the game for us, it was him," Scott said. "I'm really proud of him and others as well.

"It just felt like things went against us a little bit and when that happens and you can find a way to win the game, coaching feels good."

Cameron will miss next week's clash with Sydney at the SCG but the Cats are hopeful their spearhead has avoided serious injury.

With AAP

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