Andrew Gaff to argue strike was a chest punch gone wrong after being referred to AFL Tribunal

ANDREW Gaff is expected to fly to Melbourne to face the AFL Tribunal, where he will argue the strike that will almost certainly end his season was the result of a chest punch gone wrong.

ANDREW Gaff will argue at the AFL tribunal that the strike almost certain to end his season was the result of a chest punch gone horribly wrong.

Eagles playmaker and free agency target Gaff was sent directly to the AFL tribunal for the vicious off-the-ball blow on Andrew Brayshaw that has shocked football. He is expected to front the judiciary at AFL House in person, a seven-week suspension seen as the most lenient penalty the one-time Brownlow Medal fancy could expect. FALLOUT: EAGLES IN SHOCK AFTER GAFF PUNCHES “MATE” BAROMETER: EVERY CLUB’S INJURY LIST, SELECTION ANALYSIS DAVID KING: THE ANDREW GAFF I KNOW AND COACHED West Coast’s Gaff has told friends that he meant to punch Brayshaw in the chest in frustration at his close checking. Instead as Brayshaw slipped, the forceful punch instead collected him flush on the jaw, breaking it and displacing several teeth. Incredibly, Gaff was on the golf course with West Coast’s Hamish Brayshaw and his Docker brother Andrew only five days before. West Coast chief executive Nisbett called Brayshaw’s father — AFL Coaches Association president Mark Brayshaw — on Sunday night to pass on Gaff’s apology. It is known that the Brayshaw family has some sympathy for Gaff given his reputation will forever be stained by the action. CHECK OUT ALL THE MRO FINDINGS AND RE-CAP MONDAY’S BREAKING NEWS IN THE BLOG BELOW Brayshaw Snr returned from Perth on Monday after spending the night with his son. He will not comment until after the tribunal but the Brayshaw family sees Gaff as a ball player who was involved in one moment of madness. On Monday the AFL’s match review officer, Michael Christian, declared the league took punching “very, very seriously”. Christian stopped short of calling it the crudest hit he had been forced to adjudicate upon, but said there was no doubt that the strike fit into the highest category of grading available to him. “(Giant) Jeremy Cameron was graded similarly with his hit on Harris Andrews, but certainly it’s the highest grading that you can get,” he said. “We certainly believed in this particular case, in accordance with the provisions, that it was intentional.” Andrew Brayshaw’s season is done but despite breaking his jaw he will make a full recovery within a month. AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan ruled out the introduction of a red card system. He told the Herald Sun the league had processes in place to deal with severe on-field incidents. He has repeatedly stated over the years that brutal punches including the Tom Bugg hit on Sydney’s Callum Mills were best dealt with at the tribunal. Nisbett said both he and Eagles coach Adam Simpson had spoken to Mark Brayshaw in the past 24 hours. “It’s an extraordinary situation that we all find ourselves in at the moment. I think it’s a genuine friendship (that Gaff and Andrew Brayshaw have),’’ he said. “The kids come through the system all the time, and it wouldn’t surprise you with Hamish at our club that there is a reasonable relationship there.” Gaff was distraught after unleashing the punch, saying it made him feel sick knowing what he had done. “It wasn’t an easy conversation. Adam (Simpson) has also spoken to Mark,” Nisbett said. “We’re very grateful that Andrew Brayshaw is in reasonable shape considering what happened, and his parents are accepting of Andrew Gaff’s apology.” Past tribunal official Daniel Harford said the tribunal members would take into account direct precedents from past years. In their discussion about an appropriate penalty they would likely reference Barry Hall’s seven-match penalty for striking Brent Staker in 2008 and Bugg’s six matches for his punch on Mills last year. He predicted they would hand him a seven-match penalty — a base sanction of eight matches with a discount of one match for an unblemished record in 174 games. While there is no specific good behaviour clause at the MRO or tribunal, Harford said tribunal members were open to consider a player’s good record in delivering their finding. Watch every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. SIGN UP NOW >

Originally published as Andrew Gaff to argue strike was a chest punch gone wrong after being referred to AFL Tribunal