In a highly-anticipated matchup between two All-Australian contenders, Prestigiacomo took the early one-up lead after punching away the first delivery into Brown on the night. Seconds later, an accidental head knock resulted in a concussed Prestigiacomo searching for his senses.
> Watch Simon Prestigiacomo speak to CTV on Monday afternoon about his head clash with Jonathan Brown and relive the incident with highlights of the defender's match“(I can’t) remember too much,” Prestigiacomo told CTV in the Lexus Centre gym on Monday afternoon.
“I think I remember Brisbane kicking the first goal and then I was a bit hazy in the last quarter and can’t remember much in between.”
With trainers assisting the defender to the sidelines after the knock, Prestigiacomo was forced to receive and dish off a quick handball to Scott Pendlebury before heading to the rooms.
“The doc said, ‘Do you remember getting the handball coming off?’ and I said ‘No’. He actually tried to take credit and said he pushed me towards the play to get the handball.”
At the eight-minute mark of the third quarter, Prestigiacomo returned to the bench, much to the delight of the Magpie army.
“I had to re-warm myself up just to make sure I could get out there and not embarrass myself or do any more damage. At three quarter time I had a kick around with Butters (David Buttifant – head conditioning coach) to make sure I was right to go.”
Midway through the final term, a roar erupted inside the MCG to signify the on field return of number 35. Cast with a different set of playing instructions by the coaching staff, Prestigiacomo was moved up forward for the final 10 minutes of play.
The script was almost complete when Prestigiacomo lined up for two set shots in the closing moments of the match but was unable to convert, the only blemish on a fairytale night.
“I was pretty shattered on myself for missing them. I didn’t sleep that night as I was going over them in my head. It was terrible.
“Hopefully it put a little bit of a reminder in the back of Mick’s mind just in case they need something out of the hat, we might go for it again.”
