AFL umpire John Howorth was replaced by an emergency early in Brisbane’s clash with St Kilda on Friday night after going down at a centre bounce stoppage.
Howorth was backing out after bouncing the ball in the middle of the Gabba to start the second quarter when he crashed into Saints midfielder Paddy Dow.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: AFL umpire goes down from contact with player.
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Dow was tangling with Brisbane’s Josh Dunkley at the stoppage and found himself in Howorth’s path when Dunkley made a break away from his opponent.
Dunkley’s teammate Lachie Neale came across to block Dow, making contact with the umpire inevitable.
An unsuspecting Howorth went straight down and took some time to get back up.
When he eventually got back to his feet, he was ushered off the ground and went down into the umpires’ rooms in the hands of a trainer.
“He’s made his way from the ground, just heading straight down into the umpires’ rooms now,” Abbey Holmes said on Channel 7.
All AFL games have an emergency umpire sitting on the sidelines, and Howorth was quickly replaced to ensure four officials remained in control of the game.
Fagan calls for consistency
The Lions made a hot start to the game, taking control in the first half thanks to some brilliance from former No.1 draft pick Cam Rayner.
Lions coach Chris Fagan has seen glimpses from forwards Eric Hipwood, who kicked six goals last week, and Rayner this season — now he wants consistency.
Much like their team, the pair of potential match-winners have endured mixed fortunes throughout the 2024 AFL campaign.
But there are signs they could rediscover their best as the Lions (5-6-1) fight to claw back lost ground in the battle for a finals berth.
Hipwood was particularly impressive in last round’s 43-point thumping of the Western Bulldogs, kicking an equal career-best six goals, and shapes as a key figure in Friday night’s clash with St Kilda at the Gabba.
“It never hurts you to play a good game,” Fagan said.
“Confidence is never a bad thing, as long as it doesn’t turn into over-confidence, 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.
“It was a pretty simple approach that he had.”
Hipwood was the most prolific of Brisbane’s nine goalkickers against the Bulldogs as they spread the load and posted their highest score of the season – 17.12 (114).
The triple-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 kick six goals,” Fagan said.
“It’s great that he did, but we’re looking for an overall contribution from all our forwards, which over the past five or six years we’ve usually got.”
Rayner was also on the scoresheet against the Bulldogs, kicking one goal from 18 disposals in a promising display.
– With AAP
