Geelong champion Tom Stewart details harrowing 70-minute memory loss after concussion in preliminary final

Geelong defender Tom Stewart has revealed the harrowing moment he regained consciousness after suffering a concussion during last year’s preliminary final, with no recollection of 70 minutes of his life.

Stewart was knocked out after a heavy tackle from Hawthorn forward Mabior Chol in the first quarter of the Cats’ stirring victory.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Tom Stewart’s terrifying concussion memory loss

The vice-captain was subsequently ruled out of the grand final as Geelong fell short in a demoralising loss to Brisbane.

Speaking to Hamish McLachlan on Unfiltered , an “emotional” Stewart described waking up in the MCG doctor’s room, completely unaware of what had happened or where he was.

“That moment in time was extremely difficult. It’s hard not to get emotional talking about it,” he says.

“But the hardest moment, truthfully, was sitting in the doctor’s room at the MCG and not remembering an hour or 70 minutes of my life.

“I have this ... it’s like almost like a movie scene, I was taking my boots off, sitting on a massage table, and that’s when I, like my consciousness just came back.

“I had no idea what had happened. I had no idea where I was. I looked straight up and I saw our doctor. I looked to my right and I, you know, I see my mum and my wife and our (player development manager) Mark Worthington, and like that was, that was the hardest moment to endure.

“Just not knowing what was going on or what had just happened. But being fully conscious and aware on the ground, but I don’t remember a thing.”

Stewart then quickly realised he had been playing footy and something had gone wrong.

“I was in my footy gear. I knew something had happened. And I just remember just like just bursting out in tears, just almost like throwing a tantrum through my boots against the wall, just knowing something had gone wrong,” he added.

Stewart also said he was “proud” of the way he handled grand final week as he got on the front foot and did his best to help out his teammates rather than sitting around “sulking”.

Unfiltered with Tom Stewart, airs 10.45pm Wednesday on Seven and 7plus, following Dennis Cometti: Centimetre Perfect.