Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard has been despatched on to the AFL Tribunal after an “unprecedented intervention” from new AFL footy boss Laura Kane.
Maynard was cited for his hit that left Demon Angus Brayshaw concussed within the opening time period of Thursday’s qualifying ultimate, with many AFL consultants arguing the tried smother was a real “footy act”.
But on Friday, it was confirmed Kane and Michael Christian, the Match Review Officer, collectively laid the tough conduct cost on Maynard which is about to see him banned for at the least three weeks – together with his 2023 season now over except the Magpies choose to attraction.
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“The devil is in the detail – Michael Christian and the AFL’s executive general manager Laura Kane jointly charged Brayden Maynard, it is unprecedented,” Fox Footy’s Jon Ralph stated.
“We have seen of course Steve Hocking send the David Mackay-Hunter Clark case to the tribunal ungraded; we have never seen Laura Kane or an executive general manager step in like this.
“And so the inescapable conclusion here is Michael Christian was not keen to upheld this charge and felt there was no case to answer.
“And Laura Kane, 11 days into her tenure as the AFL’s new football boss, has acted for the interests of the AFL, of course, with all the legal implications there.
“Collingwood will defend this one to the ends to the earth, this one will go deep into next week if that’s what it takes for Collingwood to clear Brayden Maynard’s name.”
AFL greats have been left divided over the choice to ship Maynard to the Tribunal for what four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis labelled a “genuine football action”.
Collingwood nice Nathan Buckley stated he supported the case going to the Tribunal however described it as a “landmark case” for the AFL.
“I think this absolutely has to go to the Tribunal – the AFL has sort of created this grey area because some head knocks have been OK and some haven’t,” he defined.
“This is probably a landmark case because that clearly was a football action.
“What they come down with will inform the direction that they want to head on going forward.
“Is it deliberate though? No it’s not.”
Three-time premiership Lion Jonathan Brown agreed Maynard’s actions may very well be thought of “reckless”, however argued his tried smother was throughout the authorized boundaries of the sport.
“I think on the balance he probably gets off at the Tribunal,” he stated on Fox Footy.
“The smothering by the actual nature itself is a reckless action … where you are putting yourself in harm’s way and potentially the person you are trying to smother in harm’s way as well.
“But it is a legal action. You’re allowed to make an attempt to smother no matter where you jump from, you keep your feet on the ground or not.”
Fox Footy’s Garry Lyon fears the Maynard case will create a priority going ahead, permitting opponents to cannon into gamers beneath the guise of a smother.
“You open yourself up for that action in every other game when you say it’s a footy action,” he argued.
“I’m not surprise this goes (to the Tribunal) – put it up before the Tribunal and let them all go and present their cases.
“If it’s a footy action – is that what we want in footy? Are we going to be accepting of that?
“When you jump off the ground you take away any control.
“If it comes out and they say this is an acceptable footy action, then we need to have to accept that now can happen in any game.
“You can run and jump to spoil, and take someone out and knock ‘em out.”
Originally printed as Brayden Maynard despatched on to the AFL Tribunal over hit on Angus Brayshaw
Source: www.news.com.au
