It was carnage on the scoreboard and on the casualty ward for North Melbourne as the Kangaroos were handed a 90 point drubbing by the Demons at the MCG.
Kangaroos forward Charlie Comben was been seriously injured during the first quarter.
Trailing 30-0, Comben landed awkwardly in a marking contest with opponent Jake Lever – immediately showing signs of distress.
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The 21-year-old had his leg, which appears likely to be broken, tended to on the ground before play was stopped for several minutes as he was taken from the field on a stretcher.
Comben’s departure was met with a standing ovation from the North Melbourne supporters at the MCG.
“Comben in a really bad way. Unfortunately he’s had a whole series of injuries that’ve been devastating for him right throughout his career,” Western Bulldogs great Luke Darcy said in commentary for Channel 7.
“We’re just hoping this isn’t as bad as it looked initially — it looked really bad. It’s just a horror start this all-round.”
“It was pretty immediate from Comben … the doctors didn’t even hesitate, they called for the stretcher immediately,” Geelong legend Cameron Ling added.
“Unfortunately you do think the absolute worst straight away … just horrible for young Charlie Comben and the Kangaroos. It did not look good at all.”
Because of the incident’s graphic nature, no replays were show by the host broadcasters.
Comben was taken from the MCG in an ambulance, his family travelling separately.
The big man has become a mainstay of North Melbourne’s line-up this season after a horror run of early career injuries since being drafted with pick No.31 in the 2019 draft.
Later, ruckman Callum Coleman-Jones left the field for a concussion assessment after coming off second-best in a contest with Steven May. He did not return to the match.
Midfielder Tom Powell also added to North’s injury woes, sustaining a lower leg injury in the fourth term.
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