An AFL legend has called Crows skipper Jordan Dawson’s postponed exam in Friday night’s thrilling win over Essendon “baffling” amid injuries for Matthew Nicks’ side.
Dawson took a nasty hit from Nate Caddy late in the third term and was left dazed but on the ground. The Adelaide star eventually left the game in the fourth quarter and was subsequently placed on concussion protocol.
As such, Crows coach Matthew Nicks confirmed after the match that Dawson will not face Hawthorn next week.
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“We actually got the message at some point in the last quarter that Jordan has left and can’t come back,” Nicks told reporters.
“Unfortunately I believe he is now in protocols which means he will not be available next week. Actually, his health is the most important.”
It came after a chaotic week across the football landscape, where the state of the game was a major talking point following the three-match suspensions of Charlie Cameron and Toby Bedford – both of which were overturned on legal technicalities at the AFL Appeals Board.
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Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph questioned why Dawson was not initially given a Head Injury Assessment (HIA).
“The AFL told us today that accidents happen in football so I’m sure Caddy is absolutely fine, he played the ball and kicked the ball off the ground… he’ll be fine,” said Ralph on Fox Footy.
“I just think that with the change in community attitudes that the AFL is so keen to bring about, you would really like to see some of those HIAs happening in front of such a significant force off the ground. But that’s not what the AFL is telling us they need to do now.”
Melbourne great Garry Lyon was stunned that Dawson was not removed from the match sooner for a thorough evaluation.
“That’s staggering… If it’s a hamstring, they don’t do it on the ground. This is a brain injury, get that guy off and do it right,” he told Fox Footy.
It wasn’t the only major clash on the night, with Ben Keays facing potential abuse from the Match Review Officer for his tackle on Jye Caldwell, which led to the Essendon midfielder being sent off.
However, in a sigh of relief for the Bombers, senior coach Brad Scott confirmed Caldwell was “fine” after the game and said he passed a concussion test.
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And in addition to Dawson’s concussion, the Crows suffered multiple setbacks, including an ankle injury to Jordon Butts, while an early knee injury to defender Nick Murray left fans terrified after he apparently hurt the same knee he suffered an ACL injury with 12 months ago.
The 23-year-old required a knee reconstruction after his Round 19 injury last season and has only recently returned to the field.
But early in his side’s 19th match against Essendon, Murray left the field and went straight to the rooms after going straight to the doctors himself.
Just before quarter time, Murray was back on the boundary line and looked at images together with doctors.
The next time he was on camera was early in the second quarter, when Murray put on a hoodie while concerned for his well-being when news broke that he had been hired for Brayden Cocks.
Channel 7’s Abbey Holmes said: “He got off the ground, pointing to the left knee and went straight into the rooms with the doctor. Just before the break he resurfaced.
“He spent a lot of time going through a vision with the medical staff and during the break he did a fitness test – he changed direction and really tested that knee. Unfortunately, he will not start this second term on the ground.”
“You could tell by the way the doctors looked at it, they seemed extremely concerned,” Brian Taylor said.
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However, Matthew Richardson hoped the Crows were simply “ultra-conservative”.
“(The Crows) love this guy, they just got their balance back, they want him and Jordon Butts back as their mainstays. Disappointing for the young man,” he said.
Concern was equally palpable at Fox Footy.
“This is sad, hopefully not sad. But it’s not great news at the moment with Nick Murray out,” Garry Lyon told Fox Footy.
At half-time, Lyon said there had been “tears and emotions in the dugout”.
Jon Ralph said: “Adelaide would be really worried about that knee, it was the same left knee that saw him tear a cruciate ligament 12 months ago. Adelaide tells me they are not entirely sure if it is an ACL, but until the scans clear this up they will be very concerned”.
It’s been a brutal 12 months for the youngster, who played in just his fifth game of the season after completing an AFL-high 15 wins in the Crows’ 18th match with St Kilda.
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Fans were devastated by the latest setback.
Former Crow and Swan turned radio personality Ryan Fitzgerald wrote: “I don’t like the look on Nick Murray’s face. He is such a good person and has worked his butt off to get back into the team. I hope the knee is okay.”
Seven’s Mitch Cleary tweeted: “Nick Murray dropped out with a left knee injury. It is the same knee where he suffered a torn cruciate ligament in July last year.”
Another fan commented: “As soon as they said Nick Murray had a knee I feared the worst. This is just cruel.”
Another fan wrote: “Nick Murray acl has me sick.”
Another wondered: “DID NICK MURRAY JUST HIS ACL done?”
Another said: “Not Nick Murray”.
After the match, Crows coach Matthew Nicks said the club were all thinking “positive thoughts”.
“There should be a scan of that,” Nicks said. “I don’t want to say that we are confident, but we remain very positive. As you can imagine he is quite emotional at the moment, but we will continue to keep positive thoughts and hopefully it will move in the right direction.”
Murray himself spoke about the issue on Channel 7, saying he “just didn’t want to take any chances”.
“If you compare it to last time, I still have full extension of the knee, there’s not a lot of swelling, it’s just a more conservative approach,” he said. “There is no risk.”
The Crows and Bombers played an entertaining end-to-end shootout.
After Essendon took a five-point lead into the first break, the Crows scored eight straight goals and nine before the second quarter to take a 23-point lead into the main break.
But it didn’t last long as the Bombers flipped the script and responded with seven straight plays in the second and third quarters to regain the lead by 10 at the final break.
Essendon looked to have done enough to claim victory but the late attack saw the Crows take the lead through Rachele’s goal and had to make up two deficits to hold on for the win.
