Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard has white line fever but is using it to get the best out of himself
It’s the moment etched the memories of every Collingwood supporter and now defender Brayden Maynard reveals the full extent of his pain following the Grand Final loss and that Dom Sheed mark and goal.
Collingwood
Don't miss out on the headlines from Collingwood. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Collingwood defender Brayden Maynard has a confession to make — he's got a severe case of white line fever.
Don't worry Magpie fans, that's not an addition to an already lengthy injury list which has tested the club's resolve in recent weeks.
Instead, Maynard's “affliction” has made him one of the club's most durable and driven players in recent seasons, as well as an emerging leader.
The 22-year-old has played every game this year, with Sunday's clash with Gold Coast at the MCG set to take his career tally to 92.
CRISIS: EDDIE RESPONDS TO FAN LETTER ON PIES’ INJURIES
MICK McGUANE: SHOULD MASON COX BE DROPPED?
TEAMS: SEE THE TEAMS FOR PIES v SUNS
While the backline, which helped the club sweep into last year's Grand Final, has been racked with injury, Maynard has remained an important fixture in 2019
“I definitely have white line fever … to an extreme case,” Maynard said.
“Off the field, I love hanging out with friends and like to keep to myself a bit. I'm a bit of a gentle giant.
“But when I’m on the field, something just switches. I feel like I am a different person.
“When I go back and watch the games, I realise I have a constant frown on the ground. My girlfriend always says to me, ‘Get rid of the frown’. But I don't even know I'm doing it.”
The dichotomy between Maynard's on and off the field persona might be explained by the tattoos on his wrists.
Live stream the 2019 Toyota AFL Premiership Season on KAYO SPORTS. Every match of every round. Live & anytime on your TV or favourite device. Get your 14 day free trial >
On his left wrist is the signature of his maternal grandfather, Graham Campbell, who played with Fitzroy in the 1950s and ‘60s before he coached the Lions, West Perth and Glenelg.
On his right is the signature of his paternal grandfather, Ken Maynard, who died four years ago.
“Graham was always a very calm and gentle human being,” Maynard said. “He's battling Alzheimer's in Adelaide at the moment.
“Ken was very competitive in anything he did and was a hard man. Off the field, I’m a bit like Graham. On it, I'm more like Ken.”
Maynard's drive has been further fuelled by what happened on the last Saturday in September last year. Collingwood led almost from start to finish before a late goal from West Coast's Dom Sheed delivered the Magpies a heartbreaking result.
GARY BUCKENARA: THIS YEAR’S TOP DRAFT PROSPECTS
TRADE NEWS: PATTON EYES MOVE TO HAWTHORN
SEPTEMBER: BLUES’ FINALS MISSION NOT IMPOSSIBLE
Maynard was controversially edged out of a crucial late contest by Willie Rioli moments before Sheed marked, prompting an outcry from Collingwood fans.
Ten months on, Maynard maintains: “100 per cent it should have been a free kick.”.
But he said the shattering nature of the five-point loss would drive the players until they returned to that stage.
“I have found it very hard to watch (replays of) the Grand Final,” he said. “When we headed to Sydney to play GWS a few weeks ago, I watched the doco with Bucks (Nathan Buckley) and Adam Simpson, and it made my blood boil.
“I was shattered after that game and I've been shattered ever since. You get reminded about it every now and then. It's hard to let it go, but you know you have to.”
His drive to be a leader is almost as powerful, and he is already in the club's emerging leaders group.
Not bad from a person who admits he was mixing with “the wrong people” before he joined the Magpies as pick 30 in the 2014 national draft.
Back then, he sat down with Scott Pendlebury to compile a list of dos and don'ts. Maynard set himself a curfew and was more selective with the company he keeps.
“I feel like I can be a leader on and off the field now,” he said.
“I think I have got the on-field stuff down pat. It's a great learning curve for me and hopefully in the future I can get into the leading group.”
Part of his off-field development has seen Maynard volunteer at the Port Phillip Specialist School.
“It's something I have always wanted to do, working with children with a disability or with special needs,” he said.
“It brings a smile to my face and brings a smile to their faces as well.
“I am starting to build some close relationships and it takes my mind away from football, especially when we are not doing too well.”
The Magpies will also take part in the inaugural Collingwood Cares Giving Day on Tuesday, with the aim of raising $1 million in a day to give to Magpie Nest Program. The program, in partnership with the Salvation Army, provides food, accommodation and support for people sleeping rough on the streets.
Maynard is pleased to have Jordan Roughead playing alongside him after a bizarre incident last week when the former Bulldog played on for a period with the club unaware he had suffered a concussion after being struck in the face by the ball.
“He might have fumbled and they (Richmond) kicked a goal,” he said. “Roughy came up to me and asked me what had happened. I just said, ‘You fumbled, but don't worry’. He said, ‘All right’.
“I thought he looked a bit out of it. I said, ‘Maybe just go off and get checked’. He was like, ‘Don't tell me what to do’.
“A few minutes later I went off and said to the docs: ‘I think Roughy might be a bit out of it, do you mind checking on him.’
“They went straight out and he came off.”
Maynard is confident Collingwood can start to turn around its fluctuating form in time for the finals.
“Hopefully, we can come out and connect and do what we need to do to get our season going again, and go deep into the finals,” he said.
“I know when we are up and about, we are bloody hard to stop.”