Retired AFL veteran Mitch Robinson has escaped serious injury after a routine tackle went wrong in a local footy game. The 36-year-old, who played nearly 250 games for Carlton and Brisbane, suited up for Hampton Park in Melbourne but was suddenly left fearing it could be his last game of football.
Robinson tackled an opponent at a stoppage but crashed to the turf with immediate concern. He described a sharp pain and said he couldn't move his neck, with a trainer urging him to stay put as an ambulance was called. The cult hero turned YouTuber was stretchered into the rooms to allow the game to continue. He received a green whistle for pain relief and a neck brace before being taken to hospital.
Probably the scariest moment of my career and honestly, my life, he wrote after being released. It was just a routine tackle, something I've done thousands of times. But I chose the wrong side to lean into the contact, and the force drove my head down further than it should ever go. I suffered a minor concussion and had sharp pain shooting down my spine, with tingling in my legs. I spent about 12 hours in Dandenong Hospital, had two CT scans, and thankfully was cleared of any serious structural damage. I was released Sunday morning and will follow up with an MRI back in Brisbane.
Robinson was accompanied by his partner Emily and brother Leigh at the hospital and thanked those who looked after him. He said he was disappointed to miss the end of the game after other injuries had already left Hampton Park undermanned. I hated not being able to push through with them, he said. To be honest, in that moment I genuinely thought it could've been my last game of footy, definitely at a competitive level. I've been lucky to walk away from a lot of tough incidents over the years, and this one really put things into perspective.
