A HEAVY collision between Essendon co-captain Bonnie Toogood and teammate Amber Clarke rattled the Bombers early in their 43-point loss to Fremantle on Saturday afternoon.
The friendly fire came at the two-minute mark of the second quarter, when a marking contest left Clarke stretchered off with concussion and Toogood taking no further part in the game with a knee injury.
With the Bombers sweating on the results of Toogood's scans and Clarke entering concussion protocols, coach Natalie Wood admitted her side was rocked by the injuries.
“Yeah, I think it did jolt us,” Wood said of the collision.
“Those moments, they’re big.
“We heard that from the sidelines and that jolts everyone.”
Wood said Toogood was disappointed to have missed the rest of the match after copping a "pretty heavy knock" to her knee.
“Obviously she’s pretty upset,” said Wood.
“She wanted to be out there making her contribution and trying to help us put our best foot forward, so she’s obviously devastated being out, but also not being able to lead.”
Wood confirmed Clarke had entered concussion protocols.
“She’s up and walking and moving around and we will monitor her," she said.
The Bombers will fly west in week two of the competition where they'll face West Coast fresh off its one-point victory against Richmond on Friday night.
