Gaff played golf with Brayshaw days before breaking his jaw

Andrew Gaff was playing golf with Andrew Brayshaw just days before breaking the Fremantle player’s jaw.

A still showing Andrew Gaff, right, throwing a punch at Andrew Brayshaw.

Eagle Andrew Gaff was playing golf with Andrew Brayshaw just days before breaking his jaw in an act that has revived enmity between West Coast and Fremantle and could yet lead to legal action.

Gaff will throw himself at the mercy of the tribunal tonight to answer a striking charge that match review officer Michael Christian graded as intentional with severe impact to the head.

The fallout continued yesterday when West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett, while apologising for Gaff’s punch, criticised Fremantle coach Ross Lyon and Perth QC Tom Percy for their commentary on the incident.

Brayshaw, who used social media to thank fans for their support, had surgery on his jaw and teeth and will not be able to eat solid foods for the next month.

Gaff awaits his fate at the ­tribunal tonight as former Eagles player Brent Staker, who was knocked out in an incident in 2008 that led to a seven-week suspension for Barry Hall, said the league needed to make a stand when he suggested the ban could range from seven to 10 weeks.

Gaff’s reputation as a clean footballer is now tarnished, his Brownlow medal hopes are shattered and his chance to play in the finals is imperilled.

He may have played his last game at the Eagles given his free agency status.

afl trubnal's heaviest recent suspensions

Nisbett has contacted Brayshaw’s father Mark, chief executive of the AFL Players’ Association, to apologise for Gaff’s act and to ask how Andrew was feeling.

Andrew Brayshaw’s older brother Hamish is a teammate of Gaff’s at West Coast and organised the round of golf.

“It is an extremely unusual circumstance. Five days ago the three of them were on the golf course together. They have a genuine friendship,” Nisbett said.

He said Gaff, who was in tears after the incident, was “beside himself”.

It is the first time Gaff, who has played 175 games, has been reported at any level.

“People saw the remorse he had, but it doesn’t exonerate him from the action,” Nisbett said.

The punch has inflamed tensions in Perth and sparked debate about whether assaults on the football field should draw a criminal investigation.

Discussion on the merit of a red card system also flared, though the AFL has traditionally dismissed those ideas.

AFL legend Leigh Matthews was prosecuted for an incident ­involving Geelong’s Neville Bruns in 1985 for which he was convicted and fined $1000. The conviction was overturned on appeal and the champion Hawks player and four-time premiership coach instead served a 12-month good behaviour bond.

While Matthews expressed his bewilderment as recently as 2013 in his autobiography Accept The Challenge about how he came to be charged with assault causing grievous bodily harm, he yesterday said footballers needed to be aware of legal ramifications.

“Clearly now, I’m not saying the police should (pursue it) but the option should be available, because you are not outside the law of the land,” he told Macquarie Sports Radio.

Notorious incidents in the past couple of seasons include the five-week ban handed to Jeremy Cameron for a strike on Harris Andrews that left the Lions player with concussion and brain bleeding.

Demons forward Tomas Bugg received a six-match suspension for punching Sydney’s Callum Mills; Tigers defender Bachar Houli was suspended for four weeks for clubbing Carlton’s Jed Lamb and Port Adelaide’s Tom Jonas was banned for six weeks for knocking out Gaff in 2016.

Nisbett, who earlier this season championed a tougher stance on coward’s punches in amateur level in Perth, refused to be drawn on whether the punch should draw a criminal investigation. He said he preferred it to be handled within AFL protocols.

He made clear his displeasure after Lyon raised the incident ­between Staker and Hall, and Percy, who initially posted on Facebook before making media appearances, describing the commentary as inappropriate and inflammatory.

Nisbett said of the relationship between the Eagles and Dockers: “It’s certainly strained at the present stage, but that has happened through our history.

“When you are fiercely competitive within the same market, that will happen.”

Staker described the incident as unfortunate and said an example needed to be made to send a message across all leagues and codes. “It was awful. It’s not great. It’s not part of our game that we like to see,” he told SEN.

“Unfortunately, Gaff is going to be the example, but they can stamp it out with a heavy ban. This is their opportunity.”

Fremantle’s Michael Johnson was fined $2000 for a bump that left Gaff dazed later in the match. Dockers Hayden Ballantyne, Luke Ryan and Sean Darcy and Eagles Liam Ryan, Jeremy McGovern and Daniel Venables were fined for a melee that ­followed Gaff’s round-arm to Brayshaw.