Geelong Advertiser | GEELONG West-St Peter’s Josh Ponting was taken to hospital after he was injured in an incident that Roosters coach Andy Viola wants reviewed by AFL Barwon.
Ponting’s night ended after a first-quarter scuffle against Newtown & Chilwell players when he copped what Viola described as a “deliberate” knee to his quad.
Ponting, who has compartment syndrome and went into shock after the incident, was taken to hospital at half-time after swelling ballooned to worrying levels.
The nephew of cricket legend Ricky Ponting was one of three Roosters players injured during Saturday night’s gutsy nine-point win against the Eagles.
“I’ll be honest with you, we’re going to look at it as a club,” Viola said yesterday.
“We think it was a deliberate act, the bloke just ran in.
“We’ll look at that because we thought it was pretty ordinary. We won’t make too much comment on it, but we’ll look at it on the video.”
AFL Barwon’s match review panel sits this afternoon.
Compartment syndrome is a condition where pressure within muscles can build to dangerous levels and cause blood flow problems.Ponting, who played in a premiership with North Launceston last year, was released from hospital yesterday.
“It’s a serious injury that he’s got, and I just want to make sure there was nothing untoward,” Viola said.
The Roosters coach praised his players’ fighting spirit and their ability to hold strong, despite limited numbers on the bench after quarter time.
Campbell Wurramarrba suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter, while Jackson Brown played on under duress.
The Roosters led at every change before Newtown nearly snatched victory with a strong final term.
“I’ve got to give the playing group credit,” Viola said. “We’ve got a young side and we’re going to have peaks and troughs.
“But when we’re on song, we’d like to think that we can match it with the best of them.”
The Eagles, who are second-last on the ladder without a win, were again left wanting without their two most influential forwards in Jay Bett and Luke Forbes.
Despite a number of forward entries, Newtown still couldn’t find a way through the West defence.
The return of ruckman Jayden Symes helped West’s cause and the Roosters won the battle at ground level, with Chris Moreland and Daniel Smith at their damaging best.
“The versatility of our players — being able to throw them from one end of the ground to the other and not unsettle the side — was important,” Viola said.
“We only had two on the bench and to be able to maintain rotations and keep the guys focused was really pleasing,” he said.
