Maynard cleared by tribunal for Brayshaw collision

[Corn Cobbers]

THE AFL has opted against appealing the Tribunal's decision in the Brayden Maynard case, meaning the Collingwood defender is in the clear to play in the Magpies' preliminary final.

AFL ponders rule change after Maynard Tribunal call

The Brayden Maynard saga is officially over after the AFL opted not to appeal the Tribunal's decision

www.afl.com.au

The AFL, having brought the charge against Maynard, said on Wednesday that it would not challenge the Tribunal's ruling, but would comment further later in the day.

"The AFL has confirmed that after careful consideration and review of the Tribunal's decision and reasons following last night's hearing into the incident involving Collingwood's Brayden Maynard and Melbourne's Angus Brayshaw, the AFL has decided not to appeal the Tribunal's decision," a statement read.

"Per the Tribunal Guidelines the AFL had to make this decision by 12:00pm AEST today.

"The AFL will release a further statement later today."

Finally some sanity

 

[Maddo11]

But not even brace for impact ??? seriously have you ever played sport? he has to have some responsibility to protect himself and not be wide open for inevitable contact.

The contact was only inevitable once he recklessly jumped into Brayshaws path

 

[Walshawk]

But not even brace for impact ??? seriously have you ever played sport? he has to have some responsibility to protect himself and not be wide open for inevitable contact.

He was never ‘wide open’. He could have put his arms out. It is no longer good enough to brace and tack in the shoulder when you are heading towards an opponent’s head.

 

[Carringbush2010]

Players use their hands dozens of times a game to reduce the impact of their bodies colliding.

Can you point to one this year of these where they inadvertently concussed the other player?

Or, find 3 over the last 10 years?

I bet I could find a few more where body contact to a player's head caused damage.

Want to take that bet?

Both players going at speed, even then instinct is why Maynard closed up

 

[Carringbush2010]

I guess this is where its a bit perhaps of a can of worms the chances of him making any impact on the kick were pretty remote. Though then some chase down tackles etc are a lot like that (or the Shaw? smither Riewoult kick)


You obviously can't remove all contact from the sport.

I don't even thing an indemnity form would really word, think I've seen some lawyers talk about it courts in a lot of cases would throw them out especially if 'forced' to sign (I don't recall all the details I'd read on it other then in a lot of cases they are probably barely worth the paper they are written on)

I'm not sure they really have an option other than the 3rd atm sadly and thats the impasse we are at.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[Carringbush2010]

The problem did not start when he was in the air. It started when he made the decision to leap into the path of a player running straight at him at full speed.

Ok, he could have smothered the ball. That was one possible outcome. The other was that they were going to collide. And if they collided, Maynard was going to be a couple of feet in the air and Brayshaw was going to be completely open (unless he threw the ball away).

When the opportunity to collect someone head high at speed is that likely then it is unquestionably a reckless decision to jump into a player's path where both players are closing on each other at speed.

Actually agree it was a brain fart on Maynards part.

Whether or not suspending him or any other non intentional contact will actually stop future non intentional contact is the question, I doubt it. It hasn't worked so far.

 

[VicBased]

But not even brace for impact ??? seriously have you ever played sport? he has to have some responsibility to protect himself and not be wide open for inevitable contact.

Oh good grief!! Another person not in touch with reality.
Do you really believe he looked up and thought
"I am gonna let Maynard steamroller me and I might get a 50 and kick a goal"
Surely, surely you are smarter than that.?.
What part of "he didn't have time" don't you understand?

 

[sr36]

View attachment 1799682
Maynard was always going to make contact here. Maynard is moving towards the centre of the ground, towards Brayshaw.

Brayshaw does no contortions, does not move in some random unexpected way. He kicks the ball.

I'm not saying Brayshaw did anything wrong.

If you look at those four stills. Maynard is heading for the left edge of the centre circle in all of them, he's not cutting across.

And in this photo you're showing, Brayshaw is definitely leaning heavily to the right. Straighten him up and Bruzzy would miss his head. Plus the previous step after Maynard had launched would have been to the right as well because he was off balance to that side when he kicked.

 

[Didak Wine]

I'm not denying it was a smother attempt.

Just if you attempt to smother you automaticly are off the hook for any actions after that then it raises a lot of questions even outside this incident too.

Does it. You reckon everyone who tries to smother a kick now will be able to do this sort of damage. Come on. There are so many things that can happen where someone gets hit in the head. You can't orchestrate this. It's not just a smother it wad a high jump to smother with the player kicking approaching

 

[Imet Hassa]

I always thought tackling was a football action. How many players have been suspended this year for tackles?

 

[Didak Wine]

Except that isn't actually true is it? It's most of the TV pundits. It was the MRO. It's supporters of multiple clubs in this thread. And bad news for you, it's going to be the tribunal.

Even kane cornes is defending him. Gary lyon a Melbourne supporter was trying to oppose it but didn't have an argument, just head wobbled through it. The opposed voices are actually motivated by passion. They ignore the context and point to a slow mo. Only one think on Maynard's mind, the four letter word starting with f.

 

[Didak Wine]

Add to all this, brayshaw was hurt in the head minutes prior

 

[Imet Hassa]

Who is that other player that was stretchered off? Poor, poor Bruz, so hard done by, the media is pathetic.

 

[DonsRule]

Does it. You reckon everyone who tries to smother a kick now will be able to do this sort of damage. Come on. There are so many things that can happen where someone gets hit in the head. You can't orchestrate this. It's not just a smother it wad a high jump to smother with the player kicking approaching

I don't think there is a clear right or wrong in the whole incident tbh.

But a lot of recent rule changes have caused players to change approaches or techniques. When a player has a chance to bump, even within the rules I think you see them aware enough to tackle now.

The same as tackles themselves improved techniques to lower the chances of head injuries.

I have no real issue is Maynard is cleared here, I lean a little towards that will probably be the result as I don't think it incident is terrible clear one way or the other - its probably to me one of the few incidents where i'm not sure there is a really strong 'Has to be cleared nothing in it' or 'this kinda thing has to be suspended'

 

[Belnakor]

Players use their hands dozens of times a game to reduce the impact of their bodies colliding.

Can you point to one this year of these where they inadvertently concussed the other player?

Or, find 3 over the last 10 years?

I bet I could find a few more where body contact to a player's head caused damage.

Want to take that bet?

i mean this



is a good example of an accidental concussion. Mitch Duncan keeps turning with his body (because he is watching the ball - unlike Maynard), doesn't intentionally drop his shoulder.

 

[Maddo11]

I always thought tackling was a football action. How many players have been suspended this year for tackles?

Around 25

 

[Belnakor]

The expectation will be that Maynard use his extended hands to reduce the impact when he landed down on Brayshaw.

This already is the expectation - thats why you don't see 5 players getting knocked out a game.

 

[Captivating]

I'm not denying it was a smother attempt.

Just if you attempt to smother you automaticly are off the hook for any actions after that then it raises a lot of questions even outside this incident too.

What about this smother? Matthew Whelen smothers Nathan Brown and breaks his leg. Is this an accident? Whelan leaves the ground too.

Are there now different types of smothers?

 

[Deepthroat]

This already is the expectation - thats why you don't see 5 players getting knocked out a game.

This has not been explicitly instructed by the AFL.

 

[doggies ftw]

Contact was unavoidable.

My question is was the nature of the contact unavoidable?

Did it have to be a bumping motion or was there a chance to extend arms and reduce the impact to the player?

"Duty of care" appears to be three words the AFL will throw around at present to seem like it's proactive in mitigating concussions.

Given where Maynard's hands started in the smother attempt and where they finished in the bumping action, there WAS opportunity to use the hands to reduce the impact to opponent (show care).

Personally, I don't think the AFL world is ready for this concept as the group mentality is the motion was legit.

Under current climate he'll get off.

Once some of these lawsuits start getting traction I believe we will see the "duty of care" concept tighten further. The game will evolve once again to a point where players are expected to not only remove the risk of their injury but also act in a way that prevents others being injured (to the head).

The expectation will be that Maynard use his extended hands to reduce the impact when he landed down on Brayshaw.

Cmon man, the nature of contact? Dude once contact is unavoidable we’re talking split seconds here, the thing that does my head in is these ‘experts’ watch a super slowmo video of an incident and decide on all the other actions which could have been taken. This all happens in the time that Maynard has jumped off the ground and landed, we’re literally talking milliseconds ffs.

He attempted a smother, what happens after that is a football accident it’s that simple. Could he have angled his shoulder 6 degrees to the left in that split second yep, could Brayshaw have duck dived directly after kicking in that split second? Sure,

How are any alternative motions actually able to be judged when there’s a million different variables that could have happened? Just punish the action & the intent, of which here there was clearly nothing sinister.

What if Maynard put his hands up to soften the blow like youve stated, and his fingers go directly into both Brayshaws eyes and he loses both eyeballs?

 

[garlic munchers]

If this gets the all clear as a UFC action then why not.....................



"“I worked my ass off. I give up so many brain cells to the MMA gods... I thought I’d be walking away a little bloody, a little broken up. I’m a little shocked that didn’t happen,” added Strickland".

Yes you have Striko.

 

[Madblue]

All Maynard had to do was to put his hands out to protect himself and Brayshaw but instead he braced with a hip and shoulder. Not deliberate but was responsible for the KO so would have to be 2+ weeks

 

[Obeanie1]

Both players going at speed, even then instinct is why Maynard closed up

His instinct to protect himself came after he decided to run straight at a player and jumped into him with unreasonable force.

Buckley made a goose out of himself commenting. Half a dozen players a week would be suspended if this was reportable.

Um Nathan. How many times a week do players get stretchered off from an incident like this?

Pretty sure it doesn't happen 6 times a weekend.

 

[Soggy2112]

Brayshaw is running towards the goals with the ball, as is to be expected. Although he slightly deviates from a straight line this is very minimal and part of a natural kicking action. Maynard chooses to jump into his path, and then cleans him up.

Obviously his intent was to smother the ball, however he is still the one who causes the contact to occur. I struggle to see how choosing to jump at full speed in the direction of an oncoming player is not a careless act.

What the tribunal needs to decide is how do they view this sort of “contest”. If this were a marking contest then Maynard is of course free to run and jump at the ball to win it, and if he hits someone on the way through then so be it.

However in this instance Brayshaw has possession of the ball and is legally disposing of it, I think Maynard does have the responsibility to not hit him in the head in his attempts to win it back.

I understand the argument that once he was in the air there wasn’t a lot he could do (I’d argue he potentially could have put his hands out and shoved him, but I also accept that this was a protective, and not aggressive movement), however Maynard is the one who chooses to put himself in that position in the first place. Remember, the question isn’t was it intentional, it’s was is careless. I definitely think it was.

Careless conduct, head high contact made, player is concussed. Has to be 1-2 weeks.

 

[SC_Power]

Next time you're flying through the air at full speed let us know how you feel about staying open and upright.

FMD do u even hear the things you're saying.

I offered options to what Maynard could have done. Don't cherry pick to try and look smart to win an argument. Why not comment on all that is discussed rather than the bits you choose to.

And if you think that people like me haven't played the game (in my case ruckman forward) and know what you can and can't do to minimise contact, then good luck to you. You clearly know better than 14 years of playing which included seeing a fractured eye socket from "unavoidable contact". Which I'm sure you will tell me was their fault and not the guy who came flying into a marking contest intending to spoil and ended up elbowing in the head to "protect themselves".

In any event, I've seen enough of the media support to be confident that Maynard will get off because of media pressure on the AFL, and then watch them skate the line on protecting the head from now on by making an example of the first time there is "unavoidable contact" next year.

 

[Chief]

I understand the argument that once he was in the air there wasn’t a lot he could do (I’d argue he potentially could have put his hands out and shoved him, but I also accept that this was a protective, and not aggressive movement), however Maynard is the one who chooses to put himself in that position in the first place.

This exactly.

"I fired the gun, what happens to the bullet afterwards is nothing to do with me."