Ocean Grove’s second win of the season has come at a cost, with talented youngster Kye Annand in hospital after suffering a lacerated kidney during Saturday’s win over Queenscliff.
The Geelong VFL-listed key forward has spent the past two nights in hospital following a collision with an opponent during the three-point victory at Queenscliff Recreation Reserve.
Annand played out the game before attending the Epworth Hospital on Saturday night and then being transferred to Geelong’s University Hospital.
Coach Dave Farrell says as of Monday morning, Annand, who played two years of underage football with the Coutas, is waiting for a treatment plan – which may include surgery – but is in “good spirits”.
“It’s a bit unclear (how it happened),” Farrell said.
“He sustained some contact in a contest, and there was some considerable amount of attention given to his midriff for the rest of the game.
“I don’t know how much of a contribution that made to it, but it certainly wouldn’t have helped the situation.”
Farrell said he was pleased with how his young team coped with the Coutas’ physical approach.
“There were a number of incidents that we were a little bit surprised by off the ball that really challenged our young group,” he said.
“It was one of those days that we saw some real growth in them; both the way they approached the game and the way the opposition came at them showed a lot of maturity.”
Queenscliff coach Heath Jamieson says his team had no plans to target the Grubbers physically.
“We went into the game with the same plan as I have throughout my whole coaching career – to play high-scoring, fast-play football,” he said.
“To Ocean Grove’s credit, they shut down our style by having extra numbers behind and around the football, which won them the game.
“Unfortunately, when you play that style, the game becomes more physical as the majority of players are in one half of the ground.
“We played them in Round 1 in a free-flowing game of footy, and there were no incidents.”
Farrell says the umpires from Saturday’s match have requested that AFL Barwon’s Match Review Panel examine several incidents.
“We were made aware via email from AFL Barwon on Saturday night that the umpires requested they look at some vision, which wasn’t surprising,” he said.
“They were certainly made aware of it during the day. Even the free kick count was well in our favour.
“I’m sure the umpires were well across it and will let AFL Barwon deal with that.”
X: @krockfootball
