Robbo: AFL greats have missed the message on concussion after Brayden Maynard suspension

Magpie fans — and several influential commentators — were shocked when Brayden Maynard was rubbed out for two weeks for striking. This is Mark Robinson’s message to them.

It’s the first head scratcher of the year.

Brayden Maynard dangerously/accidentally/unluckily pops Daniel Lloyd and debate rages about whether Maynard should be suspended or not.

Dermott Brereton said the hit was crude.

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Nathan Buckley said it was clumsy and a “football act’’ and the outcome — a concussion to Lloyd when his head hit the ground — was the one of the reasons Maynard was in trouble.

Kane Cornes said he should be let off. “Spoils the ball first, minor contact with the inside of his forearm to the head and Lloyd gets KO’ed as a result of the whiplash when he hits the ground,” Cornes tweeted. “Should get off but won’t.”

Spoils the ball first, minor contact with the inside of his forearm to the head and Lloyd gets KO’ed as a result of the whiplash when he hits the ground. Should get off but won’t https://t.co/tcXMRHdbP8

— Kane Cornes (@kanecornes) March 6, 2022

The MRP lashed Maynard with a two-match penalty.

David Schwarz was staggered by the decision.

“It’s not a two-weeker, it’s an accidental hit. We’ve got to remember it’s a contact sport. If that continues we’re going to have a lot of players sitting on the sidelines this year,’’ Schwarz told the Herald Sun.

He added: “The AFL is playing with fire if they want to rub out every accidental head contact. Because I ask you, what’s the difference between an errant knee in a marking contest and an errant fist or elbow?’’

Have ex-AFL stars missed the league's message on concussion?

Surprisingly Collingwood appealed the MRP decision.

But on Tuesday night the AFL Tribunal rejected the appeal.

In deciding that appeal would be upheld, tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson said: “We find that the conduct was careless, the contact was high and the impact was high.”

“We find that, in approaching and affecting the contest in the manner in which player Maynard did, it could be reasonably foreseen to result in a strike to player Lloyd’s head.”

So, what have we learnt?

Clearly, the AFL has stepped up its campaign to try to eradicate head knocks and concussion from the game.

Daniel Lloyd is concussed in the game against Collingwood on March 6.

And clearly, some influential commentators are not in step with how the AFL is walking through this ever-growing forest of concern about the effects of concussion.

The confusion for fans comes when the same respected media voices differ so much to the AFL in the interpretations of what constitutes a reportable offence.

Different opinions make the football world go round, we love that about footy, but the head-high discussion becomes completely convoluted when contests like the Maynard one prompt such black and white views.

The game has changed. Period.

Maynard ran in and in a kind of round-arm attempt to spoil, his fist collected the ball and then the head of Lloyd, who the club says was dazed from the initial hit, and buggered when his head hit the ground.

The round-arm spoil attempt has always been fraught with danger.

Former Magpies coach Nathan Buckley called Collingwood player Brayden Maynard’s head-high hit on Daniel Lloyd clumsy.

There is less room for error with that action. The swinging arm means you’re probably going to lose control of its destination, which means it’s a dangerous manoeuvre.

It’s exactly what happened in the Maynard case.

So, you can hardly plead for leniency when the initial action is thought to be too aggressive.

The AFL is clamping down on this type of action — not deliberate but reckless — and when the outcome is concussion, it is a walk-up suspension.

In the past 48 hours, the discussion has centred on Maynard.

Yet, what about Lloyd? He was trying to mark the ball and the next moment he was concussed on the ground after an illegal attempt to spoil him.

There’s an argument that the commentary needs to be flipped to the point where it’s not about protecting the aggressor but instead supporting the victim.

Even Derm, the Hawks sergeant-of-arms for a decade, has accepted the sport has changed and that heads need greater protection.

With Brereton already on point, the AFL’s problem is now convincing everyone, including the past greats.

Originally published as Robbo: AFL greats have missed the message on concussion after Brayden Maynard suspension