Former Fremantle Docker Lachie Schultz explains the challenge of his concussion for Collingwood Magpies

Former Fremantle forward Lachie Schultz admits he feels fortunate to have escaped his horrible concussion against the Dockers earlier this year without a more serious injury as he prepares to play finals for the first time since moving to Collingwood. Schultz was involved in one of the ugliest and most controversial moments of the year when he was knocked out while trying to tackle Jordan Clark. He fell to the ground while attempting to run off the field and players from both clubs were upset that the game wasn’t stopped. The 27-year-old has no memory of the incident but knows how lucky he was to be healthy enough to play finals. “It’s hard to remember. The moment itself looks pretty bad,” Schultz told The West Australian. “But once I got off the field, I came back (to normal) and my recollection of the rest of the night is pretty good. Some of them look really bad and you get over them. Sometimes the ones that don’t look bad at all and people’s careers can end from them. “They’re scary. We don’t know enough about them. I’m just glad I got through that and was able to get back out on the park.” Schultz was still forced to spend an extended period on the sidelines after injuring his hamstring during his comeback match against Hawthorn. But the Glendinning-Allan medallist said he’d taken a positive approach to his rehab and refused to be negative because he’d been disappointed with his first year at Collingwood and was determined to be part of something special. Schultz was superb in Collingwood’s thrilling win over Melbourne in the last round of the season, kicking the goal that gave the Magpies the lead in the final term which meant they locked away a top four spot and qualifying final against Adelaide. “It’s been a frustrating year in that sense with not being able to play consistent footy and be on the park. But after last year, I wasn’t going to let this year be a bad year again,” he said. “When the boys are flying while you’re on the sidelines, it is great to watch. It’s easy to sit on the sidelines and watch the boys get to work as much as you want to be out there. It drives you even more to do your rehab. It made me more hungry. “This is why you play footy. To come back and play for a team that was coming off a premiership, you have high expectations on yourself and the team. We all went back to the drawing board and re-set. To put ourselves in a position where we are playing finals in the top four means the world to me.”