Andrew Gaff suspended for eight weeks after shocking hit

West Coast Eagle Andrew Gaff at the AFL Tribunal in Melbourne last night. Picture: David Geraghty

West Coast Eagles star Andrew Gaff was last night suspended for eight matches — ending his AFL season and his Brownlow Medal chances — for a sickening punch on a Fremantle opponent that was described as “ferocious in its impact and grave in its consequences”.

The ban is one of the heaviest handed down by the AFL tribunal, eclipsing the seven-match suspension given to Sydney’s Barry Hall in 2008 for knocking out West Coast opponent Brent Staker with a left hook.

Gaff’s off-the-ball strike in Sunday’s western derby in Perth left Fremantle rookie Andrew Brayshaw with a broken jaw and three displaced teeth.

After emerging from the hearing last night, a shaken Gaff apologised to Brayshaw.

“The last 48 hours has probably been the toughest couple of days of my life,” he said. “I see myself as a caring, gentle and measured person. I’m disappointed in myself. I’m disappointed I’ve let my teammates down.”

During the tribunal hearing, AFL counsel Jeff Gleeson QC called for a suspension of between eight and 12 weeks. “The strike was unrestrained in its execution, ferocious in its impact and grave in its consequences,” he said. “It was a full-blooded punch.”

In his evidence, Gaff said he was aiming to strike Brayshaw in the chest rather than the head.

“I feel sick that I got him in the face. I had no intention to hit him where I did. Once I saw him lying on the ground, I instantly felt sick. Mentally, I didn’t want to keep playing.”

Fremantle doctor Ken Withers told the tribunal that Bray-shaw suffered a horizontal fracture through his lower jaw.

His teeth were hinged backwards “a couple of centimetres into his mouth”, Dr Withers said.

He said Brayshaw’s teeth had lost nerve supply and he might require extensive dental work and implants.

Gaff flew from Perth to Melbourne to attend the hearing. In unusual scenes, he managed to avoid the waiting media at Tullamarine Airport after receiving an escort from Australian Federal Police officers.

Before the hearing, Bray-shaw’s older brother Angus Brayshaw, who plays for rival AFL club Melbourne, said he believed the tribunal should impose a season-ending suspension.

“I’d be really upset if he got less than seven,” he said.

He also suggested Gaff would be facing a prison term for assault if he had committed his brutal punch on the street, but he said his brother did not want to lodge a complaint with police.

“If this had happened at a nightclub or on the streets, it’s assault,” Angus Brayshaw told the AFL Exchange podcast. “I’m not a lawyer … but you’d probably (go to) jail for something like this.

“People say (Gaff) would never do anything like this. But the fact of the matter (is) I am watching this thing and he’s squared up to him, he’s looking at him and then just absolutely ­ruined Andrew’s mouth with his fist.”

Amid calls by some lawyers for a police investigation, Brayshaw said he did not think his brother would take the matter further. “Hopefully it’s sorted out by the tribunal and we can move on from it,” he said.