He was knocked briefly unconscious as he plunged to the turf before coming to, eventually being carried off on a stretcher. Victory's Lawrence Thomas and Andrew Nabbout of the Jets on the ground after the head clash. Those who would say of goalkeepers that where there is no sense, there is no feeling, would feel justified in the case of Thomas after he fronted the media on Wednesday after a Victory training session in which he took full part, wise-cracking and joking with journalists as he discussed the latest setback. ''I have been training the last few days, feeling good, just looking forward to the start of the season,'' he cracked, causing a momentarily pause before ripples of laughter broke out. Still, Thomas, and anyone else who has been involved in a clash of heads on the sporting field knows that concussion is no laughing matter.

''I pretty much remember the whole thing, the split second where I hit the ground and was rolling over, (maybe) not too much about that minute or two, but after that I remember everything, Mum was there, we went to hospital, ate some chocolate and I took the tests.'' Thomas originally hails from Sydney, so his mother, Linda, had driven up from Newcastle to see her son in action - and was on hand to accompany him to hospital to ensure he came through the concussion tests. He also had an MRI to ensure that neither his jaw nor his cheek was broken. ''It was a first for me, but I seem to come around pretty quickly, as soon as I hit the ground I was back. ''I have got a big pineapple head so it takes a lot to keep me knocked out. ''I came in (to Victory's AAMI Park training ground) the day we got back (Saturday) with the Doc, I had to do a few tricky questions, numbers and names and a few different tests on the computer, but I did alright.''

Melbourne Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas is taken from the field Credit:AAP Thomas missed two games earlier this season with a foot injury sustained in Wellington, when he was forced to leave the pitch, while he also missed some action last season with a hand problem. ''It's just been one of those years, I have had a few niggly things along the way, just scraping through the week to get to the games. But hopefully this is the last of it. ''Finger, foot and head I am just ticking then all off.'' The Victory number one scoffs at any suggestion that his recent head knock will prey on his mind when he has to become involved in physical challenges through the rest of the season as he deals with corners and free kicks.

''No, once you are out on the field with the adrenaline and in the atmosphere you forget that kind of stuff. ''Coming out in the first few days of training you second guess everything, you have a think but it's very important to just focus on the game. You have a responsibility to the team. If you declare yourself fit to play there are no excuses regardless of what happens.'' Victory lies fifth on the table and needs to hit form if it is to snare, at the very least, a top four spot to guarantee a home final. It hosts Brisbane Roar on Friday evening. ''We are always positive, and the Champions League coming up adds another bit of competition. ''Inconsistency has probably been our biggest let down this year. We win two or three on the trot against good teams, then we think here we go, we are on the move again. But then we have the last two weeks, two losses.