AFL rocked by 'horrific' Jeremy Howe incident: 'Awful to see'

Messages of support are flooding in for Jeremy Howe across the AFL world after a horrific injury for the Collingwood defender on Friday night that has left teammates and fans in a state of shock. Howe was stretchered off the MCG in the third term of his side's 22-point win over Geelong, before being taken to hospital.

Collingwood staged a stirring fightback to stun the defending premiers 19.11 (125) to 16.7 (103). However, the win came at a heavy price, with Pies coach Craig McRae revealing that Howe might need surgery after landing awkwardly and fracturing his forearm.

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Howe showed little concern for self-preservation when he competed for a high ball with Geelong small forward Tyson Stengle, launching himself high in the air to try and take the ball. After making contact with Stengle, the Collingwood star flipped over, before coming down hard on his left arm after extending it out to brace his fall.

Play was stopped for several minutes as Howe received medical attention, with the Pies defender in obvious agony as he received the so-called "green whistle" for some acute pain relief. Free-to-air broadcaster Channel Seven decided not to show a replay of the incident.

"He's such an important player, he's a vice-captain, we all love him," an emotional Collingwood coach said about Howe after the game. "So when you see one of the guys go down, one of the real good guys, that's going to be a cost somewhere."

New Collingwood captain Darcy Moore was also visibly rocked when discussing the incident post-match, as he paid tribute to his fellow defender Howe.

"It's pretty distressing and it's pretty messed up," Moore told the Seven Network. "We have to forget about it and get on with the job."

Outpouring of support for Jeremy How after horrific injury

The sickening incident left viewers more than a little squeamish, with broadcasters praised for not showing replays. Fans also took to social media in droves to pray for Howe's speedy recovery.

In what was an emotional win for Collingwood in more ways than one, brothers Josh and Nick Daicos starred for the Pie the day after the funeral of their grandfather. He was the father of Collingwood great Peter Daicos, who emotionally hugged his two sons in the rooms after the match.

McRae also paid tribute to the Daicos brothers, saying they had handled a tough week well. "We're human beings, this goes beyond the boundary line," he said.

"They're two of our most important players and young men we want to put our arms around. "Family first - that's our approach to it."

The Magpies overran Geelong from a few minutes after Howe's injury, kicking the last eight goals of the game to win by 22 points. "I had great belief coming here tonight ... really excited for what could be, knowing we'd done the work," McRae said.

"You can only get belief through evidence and the evidence was that we've had an enormous pre-season. We're under no illusion, it's round one. There are no patterns of behaviour yet. But it's nice to beat the reigning premiers. It's a good start."

with AAP

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