Acting Geelong captain Joel Selwood was stretchered from the MCG after an ugly clash early in Friday night's AFL game against St Kilda.

Selwood had just tapped on the ball in a St Kilda forward pocket during the first term when opponent Farren Ray ran into him, making heavy contact with the Geelong star's head.

The courageous Cats onballer lay motionless on the ground and play was held up for six minutes before he was taken from the field.

Ray will certainly come under video review, but it appeared to be accidental contact as the two players went for a hotly-contested ball.

Apart from losing one of their best players, the Cats also had to activate substitute player Darren Milburn.

Selwood clearly was unconscious after the collision and under new AFL guidelines, a concussed player must be subbed out of the game.

The substitute is a controversial new rule for this season as the AFL tries to limit the number of interchanges during the game.

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