By Jon Pierik and Andrew Wu
The premiership dream of Collingwood enforcer Brayden Maynard may be over after his heavy bump on Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw was referred directly to the AFL tribunal.
And Melbourne forward Jacob Van Rooyen will miss next week’s semi-final after his clash with Dan McStay.
Maynard’s controversial clash early in the first term of the Magpies’ seven-point win in the qualifying final on Thursday night left Brayshaw concussed, and the Demons seething. He was taken from the field on a stretcher.
After a day of marathon deliberation, with the findings not released until 7pm, match review officer Michael Christian ruled the front-on bump as rough conduct. It was assessed as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact. This means that it automatically warrants a minimum of a three-game suspension, and goes before the tribunal.
Maynard was labelled “a big puppy dog who, obviously, plays on the edge” by teammate Taylor Adams on Friday.
The Magpies have booked a berth in the preliminary final in a fortnight. Should Maynard be ruled out, this could open the door for John Noble, dumped after 83 consecutive games, to return.
The Demons continued to monitor Brayshaw on Friday, and he has not been ruled out of a preliminary final - should the Demons get there.
Demons coach Simon Goodwin was emotional in his post-match press conference, declaring Brayshaw, who has had a troubled history with concussion, was shattered after being knocked out.
Maynard found himself in trouble after he collided with Brayshaw, having attempted to smother a kick. The impact of what Maynard described as a “footy act” left Brayshaw sprawled on the turf for several minutes and requiring the motorised stretcher to take him off the field.
Brayshaw was subbed out and will not play in the semi-final next week against Carlton or Sydney, and there must be doubts if he will be available should the Dees progress.
Brayden Maynard watches on as Angus Brayshaw is stretchered off the field.Credit: Paul Rovere
He applauded the crowd and gave a thumbs up as he left the field, but Goodwin said the player was “upset” at the prospect of missing finals.
His career was in jeopardy in 2017 when he took time out of the game after four concussions in 12 months, but he has rebounded strongly, missing just six of a possible 137 games since.
Goodwin struggled to contain his emotions discussing the incident.
“I guess that’ll be sorted out during the week, but we’ve got a pretty shattered player in there,” Goodwin said, pausing to compose himself.
Brayden Maynard of the Magpies and Jack Viney of the Demons.Credit: AFL Photos
“Yeah look, you can only go by the facts. He jumped off the ground and knocked the guy out. So I guess time will tell.
“He’s [Brayshaw] upset. He’s obviously had a history with concussion a long time ago. He’s obviously dealing with some emotion there. But he wants to play finals footy. He’s going to be missing for a few weeks and it’s disappointing.”
An upset Maynard, who was booed by Dees fans every time he touched the ball, said there was no malice in his actions.
“I don’t want to say too much, but it’s a footy act,” Maynard told Seven after the game. “I came forward, I jumped to smother the ball and yeah, unfortunately, I just got him on the way down. So I don’t know.
“We’ll have to wait and see what happens. I absolutely love that guy to bits. So yeah, it’s shattering what happened.”
Collingwood coach Craig McRae, who wished Brayshaw well, defended his player.
“Then the act itself, it did not look like it had too much malice but I’ll leave it up to others to decide whether it’s worthy of a suspension or not,” McRae said.
Van Rooyen was cited for striking McStay, his incident assessed as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact, thereby being handed a one-match ban. The Demons could also appeal.
Already without Harrison Petty and Jake Melksham to injury, the Demons cannot afford to lose another forward after a night in which they struggled in their front half. The Dees booted only seven goals from 69 entries inside 50 after dominating play from midway in the second quarter.
Magpies star Nick Daicos, on the mend from a knee injury, trained on Friday, and almost certainly will be fit for selection in a fortnight.
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