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This is not about putting Andrew Gaff’s horrific punch to 18 year old Andrew Brayshaw’s jaw into any lesser light – it was a nightmare act of thuggery that regardless of Gaff’s character constitutes a harsh penalty at the tribunal.
This article is actually about the bizarre scenes that unfolded for the remainder of the game, that without perspective, may appear completely ridiculous.
First and foremost, we can only hope Andrew Brayshaw can recover quickly and without complication. A terrible incident on a first-year player.
During the game social media was alight with harsh criticism of the punch, some offering up character references of a sort and lots of speculation on the length of the ban to be imposed.
Tom Bugg was a commonly used reference point. Another section of the social media wildfire was the seeming disgust at the West Coast fan-base’s response.
One of the games most well-respected voices Terry Wallace, a very prominent Twitter user, couldn’t fathom Eagles fans’ reaction, noting “unbridled over-reactive support of an action that cannot be condoned”.
The Roar’s own Glenn Mitchell was highly critical, calling West Coast fans “simply ridiculous” for their uproarious support of Gaff for the remainder of the match. There were many similar themes on Twitter and other social media platforms.
I’m a West Coast fan and was at the game. West Coast fans have their trigger points (like many fan-bases I might add) that to the outsider makes them either appear woefully ill-informed, arrogant or just downright absurd.
West Coast fans are the league’s worst at interpreting the deliberate out of bounds rule. I’ll never push back on that criticism – it drives me crazy.
Another big no-go is any criticism of Nic Naitanui, under any circumstance. Even when un-categorically warranted, going down that path with an Eagles fan would be the equivalent of slapping yourself in the face with a dead fish. A no-winner.
And of course there was the outright stupidity of booing Adam Goodes, which tarnishes anyone who wears blue and gold.
However the reaction to Andrew Gaff, on this occasion, was a genuine case of things not truly being as they appear.
When Gaff took a mark in the 17th minute of the fourth term, Eagles fans rose in solidarity as he kicked truly and heaped more pain on fans in purple.
To the outside, this act of hero-worship could have come across as somewhere between endorsing thuggery and supporting gutless violence.
A one-eyed display of thickheadedness from a collective fan base, which if true would rightly appal the outside world.
However, I am not so sure this is a true reflection of what played out inside the stadium.
At home, wherever that is around the country, those viewing on television would have had access to countless replays within seconds, and even more discussion on the incident.
Judgements were being formed within minutes of the action and commentary would have centred on it for the remainder of the game – particularly given the scoreline.
However, at the ground, there was not a single replay on the big screens, and only a short break in play as Brayshaw came off the ground – the incident being away from the eyes of a majority of those in the stadium.
I didn’t know about it until being informed via group chats by those watching at home. It wasn’t until three-quarter time that I tracked down a replay via twitter.
What wasn’t lost on Eagles supporters was the ferocity of which the Dockers players committed to attacking Andrew Gaff in general play shortly thereafter.
Not immediately after, again as the incident wasn’t categorically noticed, but within minutes – obviously the message being relayed around the playing group.
To the fans in the stadium, the only thing that was clear was that the Dockers players had a specific target on Andrew Gaff’s head, and every other part of his body.
He was belted at every possible turn, perhaps even some hits to come under MRO scrutiny in their own right.
When Gaff appeared to rise through this, without perspective of the previous incident this would appear as somewhat of a triumph worth noting. Again, emphasis on “without perspective”.
I am not for a moment defending the Gaff hit. He will cop his whack at the tribunal. His remorse is palpable, but doesn’t un-break a jaw. I rarely defend Eagles supporters for their collective craziness.
However in this instance, I suspect that the 57,000 people in attendance were for the most part on a completely different information paradigm than those watching at home. This goes some way to explaining the seemingly bizarre scenes at the ground.
Many will think that the information gap might have been collectively overcome via social media during the remainder of the game.
While that was probably true for some, the reality is during games there is rarely much time to check messages, let alone take in anything meaningfully.
The fact that West Coast has probably one of the oldest fan bases in terms of average age of attendee likely doesn’t help.
This article itself may come across as narrow minded and ill-informed. I’m just giving a perspective on what I interpreted at the ground.
A replay at the time might have changed everything, or might have changed nothing. Eagles fans might have covered themselves with the proverbial regardless.
However in the microcosm of Perth Stadium in real time, I suspect all was not quite as it seemed to the outside world looking in.
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