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AFL umpire John Howarth was replaced in an emergency at the start of Brisbane collision with St Kilda on Friday night after falling at a central stop.
Howarth was backing away after clearing the ball in the middle of the Gabba to start the second quarter when he collided with Saints midfielder Paddy Doe.
WATCH VIDEO ABOVE: AFL referee goes down after contact with player.
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Dow tangled with Brisbane’s Josh Dunkley at the stoppage and found himself in the path of Howarth when Dunkley made a pass from his rival.
Dunkley’s teammate, Lachie Neal, ran in to block Dow, making contact with the referee inevitable.
The unsuspecting Howarth went straight down and it took him a while to get back up.
When he finally got to his feet, he was carried off the ground and down to the judges’ rooms in the arms of a trainer.
“He’s worked his way out of the ground, now he’s just heading straight down to the judges’ chambers,” Channel 7’s Abbey Holmes said.
All AFL games have an emergency referee sitting on the sidelines, and Howarth was quickly replaced to ensure four officials remained in control of the game.
Fagan calls for consistency
The Lions got the game off to a hot start, taking control in the first half thanks to the brilliance of former No. 1 draft pick Cam Rayner.
Lions coach Chris Fagan has seen flashes from forwards Eric Hipwood, who kicked six goals last week, and Rayner this season – now he wants consistency.
Like their team, the pair of potential match-winners have endured mixed fortunes throughout the 2024 AFL campaign.
But there are signs they could be rediscovering their best as the Lions (5-6-1) fight to regain lost ground in the battle for a finals berth.
Hipwood was particularly impressive last round with 43 points over the Western Bulldogs, kicking a career-high six goals and shaping up to be a key figure in the clash with St Kilda at the Gabba on Friday night.
“It never stops you from playing a good game,” Fagan said.
“Confidence is never a bad thing as long as it doesn’t turn into overconfidence, and I’m pretty sure that won’t be the case with Eric.
“He just played with a lot of energy last week and competed for every ball that came into his area.
“He had a pretty simple approach.”
Hipwood was the most prolific of Brisbane’s nine wicketkeepers against the Bulldogs as they shared the load and recorded their highest score of the season at 17.12 (114).
The three-figure tally was a throwback to last year, when the Lions were the second-highest scoring team in the competition.
“We don’t need (Hipwood) to score six goals,” Fagan said.
“It’s great that he did, but we’re looking for an overall contribution from all our forwards, which we’ve usually had over the last five or six years.”
Rayner also chipped in against the Bulldogs, kicking one goal from 18 disposals in a promising game.
– With AAP
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