A sickening collision involving Western Bulldogs youngster Luke Cleary has put a dampener on Saturday's 16-point victory.
Late in the final term, Cleary can be seen gunning for the football in dispute, before an oncoming Jackson Archer came over the top and collected him, knocking the former out cold.
Following a lengthy delay, the Bulldogs defender was stretchered from the ground, but sparked a stadium-wide heart sink as coach Luke Beveridge's reaction perfectly summed up the incident.
The clash could be scrutinised by the Match Review Officer (MRO) given Archer's recklessness, although there's a case that can be made that his attempt at the ball was realistic.
Cleary was taken to hospital as a precaution as the club has yet to give an official update on his injury.
Following the incident, Beveridge can be seen bolting down to the ground in genuine concern for his player as the match reached a crucial point.
The Bulldogs' Luke Cleary has been cleared of a serious injury. @DavidZita1 provides the latest potential MRO issues for Jackson Archer and Justin McInerney.
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"Luke's headed off to hospital," Beveridge said in his post-match address.
"I can't give you much that he'll obviously be in concussion protocols for a while and that ASAP we'll let you know what's happening with Luke.
"I came down from the box after that because the game was really on the line.
"But remember watching Happy Days, and they had some strange characters in it, but you remember the Malachi brothers, the Malachi crunch, just a bad crash.
"Players went hard and Luke came off second best. Hope he's okay.
"He was responsive enough on the ground to be optimistic."
Beveridge didn't think the contest didn't warrant MRO intervention.
Opposing coach Alastair Clarkson shared the same sentiment.
"It was just an unfortunate collision of the game. I hope the young fella's OK,” Clarkson said.
"It's a really interesting one. I didn't really know what the free kick was going to be. Was it going to be for too high? Or was it going to be for taking the legs out of the opposition?
"There's no malice in it whatsoever. One (Archer) is coming in hard to compete and the other guy (Cleary) is going in low.
"And that's what I'm saying around the rules of the game. If you decide to go in low, it better not be that you take the legs of the opposition.
"If you stay upright, though, in terms of ‘Arch' coming in, then you run the risk of someone low - hitting them in the head with your legs or whatever.
"So it's a really, really difficult one."
The injury carnage didn't end there for the Bulldogs, who were already out with a large contingent of experienced players, headed by Marcus Bontempelli.
Key defender James O'Donnell was forced from the field in the third quarter after a collision with Kangaroos forward Paul Curtis.
O'Donnell was subbed from the game and replaced by small forward Arthur Jones.
"James the same," Beveridge continued.
"We feel like he may have a fracture in his jaw and he's headed off for an X-ray."
The Western Bulldogs will now lick their wounds and prepare for Collingwood on Friday at the MCG to celebrate their 100th year in the league.
