The AFL world has paid respect to Todd Goldstein after the brave old warrior suffered an awful concussion in Essendon's heavy loss to the Gold Coast on Wednesday night.
The 37-year-old started 2025 as the Bombers' third-choice ruckman and filled coaching duties until both Sam Draper and Nick Bryan went down with injuries.
The former All Australian ended up playing 16 matches for the year, before a sickening collision with teammate Xavier Duursma forced Goldstein to be subbed out before halftime against the Suns.
Uncontracted for next season, the 345-game Goldstein's future in the league is uncertain, but coach Brad Scott paid tribute to his veteran ruckman in his post-match press conference.
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"Goldy got concussed for the first time ever in his, whatever it is, 17, 18 years of footy," he said.
"He was shattered to go down. He's been a warrior for us and I don't know what we would've done without him, given pretty much all our other ruckman have gone down throughout the season."
AFL reporter Rohan Connolly was among a host of footy fans paying tribute to Goldstein online.
"If this is Todd Goldstein's last game of AFL football, really hope he's suitably acknowledged," Connolly wrote on X.
"Been a bloody warrior for two clubs now, almost 350 games over 18 years, most hitouts in AFL history, an All-Australian B&F winner & one of the nicest blokes I've met."
Another footy fan tweeted: "345 games before his first concussion says everything about Goldy’s toughness and professionalism. Massive respect. But also a reminder how brutal AFL is — even the most durable eventually get caught. Hope he recovers well."
A third wrote: "Absolute star and plays the game like it should be."
A fourth added simply: "Take care Goldi."