AFL: Collingwood star Jeremy Howe is sent to hospital after a sickening collision against Geelong

Collingwood defender Jeremy Howe suffered pain as he was carried from the MCG with a broken forearm during the Magpies’ pulsating 22-point AFL win over Geelong.

Howe is in hospital and coach Craig McRae said he may need surgery.

Howe had a horrific clash with Geelong’s small forward Tyson Stengle in the third semester of Friday night’s eventful first round.

After trailing by a whopping 22 points in the third quarter, Collingwood roared back against the reigning Premiers to win 19.11 (125) to 16.7 (103).

“He’s such an important player, he’s a vice-captain, we all love him,” McRae said of Howe.

The Pies defender reportedly broke his arm contesting an air ball

“So if you see one of the guys go down, one of the real good guys, it’s costing money somewhere.”

New Collingwood captain Darcy Moore was emotional after the match as he paid tribute to fellow defender Howe.

“It’s pretty disturbing and it’s pretty messed up. We need to forget about it and get on with the work,” Moore told the Seven Network.

Howe and Stengle disputed a fly ball and the Collingwood player was sent flying on impact.

He landed heavily on his left arm and play was stopped for several minutes as he received medical attention.

Howe needed the so-called ‘green whistle’ for some acute pain relief and the Seven Network chose not to replay the incident.

Stengle also had to leave the field due to the impact of the collision, but was able to return.

The Magpies swamped Geelong with an eight-goal run from the end of the third term, kicking five to nil in the final quarter for a commanding win.

His Collingwood teammates gathered around him as he was carried off the field

Jordan De Goey, one of Collingwood’s best, put an exclamation mark on victory with a booming shot from 50 yards for his third goal late in the final term.

It is Collingwood’s highest score since 2018, when they made it to the Grand Final.

“I was very confident that I would come here tonight. I drive in and think I’m very excited about what could be, knowing that we’ve done the job,” McRae said.

The Cats beat Collingwood by six points in last year’s epic qualifying final – one of the games of the season – en route to the premiership, and this was another classic.

It was a spirited affair on Friday evening with both sets of players clashing during the quarter break. But Collingwood managed to rally and take a huge 125-103 win to get their 2023 campaign on a flyer.