PANIC was the immediate reaction of Bryce Selwood after his son, Joel, was stretchered from the MCG on Friday night.Playing for Geelong against St Kilda in round one of the AFL season, Joel’s night ended in the first quarter after he was involved in a sickening collision with the Saints’ Farren Ray as the pair pursued a loose ball.Ray made contact with Joel’s head, knocking the former Bendigo Pioneer out.Following the clash, a bloodied Joel lay motionless on the ground as play was held up for six minutes as the courageous Cats midfielder was tended to.Joel – playing his 95th AFL game – had an oxygen mask and neck brace placed on him by Geelong medical staff before he was taken into the changerooms via a motorised trolley.“We (Bryce and wife Maree) just panicked when we saw it,’’ Bryce said yesterday.“As soon as it happened we left our seats straight away and went to the rooms.“We actually beat the trolley in, and to be honest, Joel was a bit annoyed that he had been subbed off, but he wasn’t thinking straight.“He immediately wanted to stand up once he woke up, but he was told to lay down until he got his faculties.“He got stitched up, had a shower and then went to the hospital, where he had a CT scan and was given the all-clear, but he had to be monitored all night, so he stayed at the Geelong doctor’s place so he could keep an eye on him.’’Joel had 14 stitches in his mouth, but was more concerned with getting back to the MCG and celebrating with his team-mates after their one-point victory than staying in hospital.‘‘Joel was being kept updated about the game while he was at the Epworth, and he kept saying how he had to get back to the ground to sing the song if Geelong won the game,’’ Bryce said.“We didn’t quite get back in time. We were walking back to the car when the siren went, so he just missed the end, but he was stoked they won.’’Ray has been reported for forceful head-high contact on Joel.“There wasn’t anything untoward. It was just two guys going for the football, so it just has to be left up to the league to adjudicate,’’ Bryce said.Joel indicated no hard feelings towards Ray after writing on Twitter on Saturday: “I’m all good. 14 stitches in the mouth, it was all fair play by Farren Ray. Great win by the Cats.’’Since he was drafted in 2006 with pick No.7 from the Pioneers, Joel has been touted as a future captain of Geelong.And on Friday night he had the chance to skipper the Cats for the first time, with captain Cameron Ling missing the game. “It was great seeing him go through the banner and toss the coin. It was brilliant and a very proud moment for us and him,’’ Bryce said.The chance to captain Geelong adds to Joel’s impressive footballing resume, which includes premierships in 2007 and 2009, the AFL Rising Star Award in 2007, All-Australian selection in 2009 and 2010, winning the Cats best and fairest last season, and being awarded the Bendigo Advertiser-WIN Television Sports Star of the Year, backed by mecu credit union, in 2009-10.Friday night wasn’t the first time the Selwood parents have seen one of their sons involved in a horrific head clash on an AFL field. In round seven of the 2009 season, Troy Selwood, playing for the Brisbane Lions, suffered a brutal head knock in a collision with Richmond’s Alex Rance at the MCG.Meanwhile, after watching Joel play at the MCG on Friday night, Bryce and Maree were in Perth yesterday to watch two of their other sons – Adam and Scott – play for the West Coast Eagles against North Melbourne.Yesterday also doubled as Scott’s 21st birthday.