Geelong defender Tom Lonergan relived an unpleasant memory on Monday as he watched footage of Jay Schulz’s bone-crunching collision with Port Adelaide teammate Justin Westhoff.
Schulz, who went into Sunday’s AFL round-12 game against Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium with heavy strapping around his sore ribs, leapt back with the flight of the ball and was crunched by his teammate in a costly piece of friendly fire.
Schulz took a long time to walk off the field following the second-quarter incident but managed a third goal after halftime despite what was later diagnosed as abdominal bleeding.
The courageous forward is expected to remain in a Melbourne hospital for several more days this week, according to Port officials.
Lonergan had a kidney removed following a bruising clash in a match in 2006 and there was no more deserving winner of a premiership medallion when the Cats triumphed over Collingwood in last year’s grand final.
Schulz is expected to be out of football for at least a month.
“I can still remember how I felt after getting hit,” Lonergan told FoxFooty’s On The Couch on Monday.
“After seeing Jay’s footage this afternoon it looked like he was in some real pain so my thoughts go out to him.”
Lonergan said it took him a full season to overcome his fear of serious injury once he returned at AFL level.
“I wore the guard for a little bit. Going back (with the flight of the ball) was always something I was wary of early on,” he said.
“But then I think you get to the stage where you’ve just got to let your inhibitions go and if the ball’s there to get … you’ve just got to go and get it.”
Port coach Matthew Primus said when Schulz came off the field in the second term he thought his star forward was simply winded.
“After the game he started to feel pretty ill so they got him off to hospital pretty quickly,” Primus told FoxFooty’s AFL360.
“It was touch and go whether they had to operate on him and open him up.
“The bleeding’s stopped and he’ll be in hospital for a couple more days, then it’ll take another month or so before he’s fully healed inside.”
Primus praised Schulz’s efforts, particularly after taking a rib injury into the game then soldiering on after receiving another heavy blow.