Collingwood forward Lachie Schultz collapses after concussion in 'rattling' scenes in gutsy win over Fremantle

Thank you for spending your evening with us. Another excellent result for the Pies, who go from strength to strength.

Join us tomorrow night for the Tom De Koning Bowl a.k.a St Kilda vs Carlton.

I'll be on deck to guide you through that right here. See you then!

Collingwood coach Craig McRae on the Lachie Schultz incident.

"We were all sort of worried about his welfare and we called for the stretcher and our doctors were trying everything they can to get Lachie OK and he just jumped to his feet," he tells reporters in his press conference.

"So we did what we could, but yeah, ideally you can stop the game.

"My love and care for Lachie is paramount and his wellbeing is paramount.

"We want to protect our players and you don't like to see your players laying on the ground and you wish you could take that away. I just hope he's OK. I haven't had a chance to speak to him.

"I have played the game a long time ago and had a few concussions, and you're just not conscious.

"Lachie wants to get knocked down and get back up again, it's what my dad used to say to me all the time. Maybe that's in his psyche and shows his courage.

"We have the ultimate care for our players and this is the part of the game we'd love to not have.

"Lots of players in the past have had to live this and we're making changes to make our players safer and the environment safer for our players."

Great to see Lachie Schultz up and about in the Pies rooms after the match, which is always a good sign.

Schultz's forward line teammate Bobby Hill pays tribute to his courage after the game.

"It's always scary to see players go through that stuff," he tells Fox Footy.

"He's an unbelievably hard player and we'll put our arms around him."

Schultz will go into the concussion protocol and will be sidelined next week.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for following along! I reckon that is an excellent win for the Pies, given the personnel that was out.

They're going to be a hard team to beat this season, either home or away, when fully healthy.

Collingwood captain Darcy Moore has questioned why the game wasn't stopped when Lachie Schultz was knocked out midway through the fourth quarter.

Moore says it was "rattling" to see his teammate sprawled out on the Perth Stadium turf after the sickening clash with Jordan Clark.

Here's what he said about the incident in full.

"When you see an incident like what happened with Lachie Schultz just competing so hard, it's just so rattling to see," he told Fox Footy.

"It's a reminder I suppose to everyone watching at home just the risks the guys take stepping out here and what they're prepared to do.

"We love 'Shooter', he's one of our favourite teammates, he does that stuff week-in, week-out.

"It's pretty rattling to see when the game is on the line to have one of your heart and soul players experience a concussion like that.

"We were pretty concerned at how severe he looked and how disorientated he looked.

"At first, players from both teams thought the game should've been stopped at least for 20 seconds to let him off the ground.

"That was really our first concern because of how nasty it looked.

"He was right in front of me, so I could see how much he struggled walking.

"It was a set shot anyway, so it felt like it was right in that moment (to stop the game), but clearly it only happens when it's near the play.

"It felt like in the moment when someone is in a state like that and we're still running around chasing the footy, it didn't feel right."

Hi Botto,

You know what? That's an excellent question, and one that I'm sure will be asked of the AFL in the wake of this incident.

Collingwood continues to flex its premiership credentials after moving to 7-2 with a superb win in the west!

The Pies took a little gamble by resting some players this week, backing their system in, and it has paid off handsomely.

They managed the game superbly despite losing some of the key indicators, but they showed they can win a game in a different way.

A lot has been made of how Nick Daicos-reliant the Pies have been in recent years, but this win came with Daicos well held and potentially carrying a knock.

The Pies will be concerned about the status of Lachie Schultz who was knocked out in a tackling attempt in the final quarter.

Another disappointing result for Fremantle. The Dockers did a lot better tonight than they did a week ago against the Saints, but it was the same issues of playing a little too slowly and the ball movement going forward was inefficient.

This result won't help ease any of the pressure on Dockers coach Justin Longmuir.

Fremantle continues to press to get back in this one, but a kick inside 50 from Matthew Johnson is gobbled up by Jeremy Howe.

The Dockers' ball movement going inside 50 tonight has cost them this one. Well that and the turnovers.

What a masterclass it's been from the Pies.

Freo has 61 inside 50s for just six marks inside 50, that ratio is not going to get it done folks.

We're into the final three minutes now.

Jamie Elliott, what a night he is having!

The Pies counter-attack after an extended period of pressure from Freo.

A long kick inside 50 from McCreery finds Elliott, who ghosted in from the side of the pack to take a lovely mark.

Elliott has kicked three of his six majors in this final quarter. He's such a lethal small forward when he's up and firing.

I reckon the Pies might just be home now. There's a little over five minutes left and the Dockers need four goals.

Jack Crisp is making up for last week's miss and then some!

Crisp wrenches the ball away from Matt Johnson while Johnson is being tackled by Jamie Elliott, and then snaps on the run on his non-preferred boot.

That's a big goal for the Pies to just calm things down a little with Fremantle coming home with a wet sail.

Crisp has 27 disposals, five tackles, five clearances and two goals tonight as well as 665m gained.

Righto, back to what's happening in this game because it's completely flipped in the last few minutes.

Freo has the last three goals through Sam Switkowski, Shai Bolton and Murphy Reid, who has the latest after nailing a set shot.

Collingwood's lead down to just 10 points with 11 minutes left. Plenty of time in this one!

The Pies of course down a rotation after that Schultz injury as well, I wonder if it'll take a toll down the stretch.

Lachie Schultz is in some strife here after being absolutely flattened in a tackle attempt on Jordan Clark.

Clark was running with the footy and Schultz attempted to tackle him and got completely cleaned up. It looked like Clark's shoulder made contact with Schultz's head.

He lays motionless on the turf for a few seconds before getting up and then falls to the ground as he tries to run off. Distressing scenes.

He finally gets off the ground with the help of the trainers and he's heading for a HIA. I'd say that'll be his night done.

To make matters worse for the Pies, they'd just activated their sub as well with Steele Sidebottom making way for Oleg Markov.

So they'll be one short for the remainder of this match.

Shades of 2022 for Jamie Elliott as he kicks his fourth of the night from the boundary line!

Elliott took the mark while tucked into the boundary line 40m out from goal, but goes back and slots it.

That was similar to the game-winner he kicked from the same area against the Bombers three years ago.

Nick Daicos with the goal assist after a lovely left-footed kick inside 50 to find Elliott.

The Pies lead back out to 21 points.

It's been a story of efficiency so far in this one, as the Pies take a 15-point lead into the final change.

Fremantle has dominated the territory battle, leading the inside 50 count 46-26, but they've just been inefficient with their forward 50 entries.

Collingwood, on the other hand, has looked like scoring every time down the ground.

Jordan Clark continues to rack up tons of the football, he's got 26 touches and seven intercept possessions.

Freo leads the clearance count 34-22 as well, with Serong, Bolton and Brayshaw combining for 20 of those clearances alone.

Jack Crisp has 22 disposals and three clearances for the Pies. Nick Daicos managed just two disposals in that quarter, and has been pretty much ineffective.

A big, big quarter lies ahead for Fremantle's season here.

Sean Darcy looks like he's about to be done for the night folks.

The Freo big man was seen looking quite emotional on the bench and then the next time we see him, he's getting his left leg wrapped in ice.

The news from the ground is that Darcy has a left knee injury, according to Fox Footy's broadcast.

Fremantle's sub is Neil Erasmus, who looks like he's about to be activated shortly.

Darcy gives Erasmus an encouraging slap on the butt as he chucks his jumper on, but he looks pretty shattered.

Patrick Voss keeps Fremantle within striking distance!

This is a massive 11-point swing! Bobby Hill had a set shot virtually directly in front from close range and somehow sprayed it after another Freo turnover.

Freo goes down the other end and Voss wins a free kick in the pocket and then finishes superbly with the checkside.

The Dockers are alive, but they've just been their worst enemy all night.

The Pies are just putting some space between themselves and the Dockers here!

A lovely kick inside 50 from Jamie Elliott finds Bobby Hill out the back of the defence once again.

Hill kicks truly from the set shot to continue an incredibly accurate night for the Pies, who are now 11.3.

Collingwood's lead up to a very dangerous 20 points. Hill has three.

Two inside 50s for two goals so far this quarter. Freo has four inside 50s for two behinds.

Fremantle absolutely killing themselves once again!

There's just been zero composure in Freo's back half tonight, and time and time again, they've coughed up goals.

Heath Chapman found himself on the goal line with the ball and instead of rushing the ball through for a behind, he opts to go for a haphazard kick out and it's spoiled by the Pies who are pressed up on the 50m arc.

Eventually the ball ends in the hands of Bobby Hill, who snaps truly from 30m out on a slight angle.

The lead is up to a slightly dangerous 15 points now.