Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says Tom Liberatore simply “lost his footing” after the star midfielder fell to the ground in worrying scenes during Friday night’s loss to Essendon.
Liberatore during the fourth quarter of the Marvel Stadium game collapsed in the centre of the ground in a scary moment as he was aided to by a concerned Darcy Parish.
The Dogs on-baller, who copped a hit from Jake Stringer minutes earlier, appeared dazed after eventually getting back to his feet before playing out the game.
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Reflecting on the incident post-match, Liberatore told ABC he “lost balance” after tweaking his ankle, while Beveridge also downplayed any concerns and confirmed he’d avoided a concussion.
“He’s fine. For some reason he lost his footing and stumbled, but he’s fine. He’s being looked after and there’s no concussion or anything like that,” the Dogs coach told reporters.
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Despite this, Fox Footy pundits were left concerned watching the incident.
“To stagger after a contest like this, that does not look good. (Bulldogs doctor) Gary Zimmerman would be having a close look at that. That is troubling,” former Hawthorn Ben Dixon told Fox Footy Live.
Geelong great Cameron Mooney added: “It’s hard to say what it was, but that just looked like a guy who was dizzy after a big hit and lost his balance and needed to lay down for half a second. He seems to be OK now.”
Meanwhile St Kilda champion Dal Santo heaped praise on Parish for the way he handled the situation.
“Well done by Darcy Parish here,” Dal Santo said.
“That is a really good by an opposition player to have care for somebody else … that’s fantastic on a different level.”
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