We’re so accustomed to watching footballers of all stripes take hard knocks that we probably don’t often think what it must be like for their families watching at home.
But the wife of Western Bulldogs player Liam Picken gave a little bit of insight into the nail-biting atmosphere at home when dad, or mum, are on the field. Picken was knocked out on Saturday night during the Bulldogs’ game against the Freemantle Dockers, after his head got squashed between Docker Tommy Sheridan’s hip and the ground.
It was worrying to watch the AFL player left flat out and motionless on the ground as play continued around him, but it was not doubt even more worrying for Picken’s wife Annie Nolan and their six-year-old son Malachy, who were at home in Melbourne watching the Perth Game. Nolan posted a picture of the little boy on Instagram, clearly tearful after watching his daddy get injured on screen.
“Knocks to the head will always be my most hated part of this sport,” Nolan wrote. “Just a reminder to never take joy in the hurt/injury of opposition players (or anyone for that matter.) Not sure if Liam will run back out tonight but it was upsetting to witness what we just did.”
Although Picken was pictured later conscious and walking, he didn’t rejoin the game after failing a concussion test. The Herald Sun said Picken might be in doubt for the first-even Good Friday AFL match on Friday as a result. Regardless, his wife was clearly feeling a little more lighthearted after seeing the player walking around.
Do the possibility of head injuries in sport worry you? Would you let your small children watch if their father or mother was playing on screen?