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Collingwood defender Brayden Maynard faces a nervous wait on whether the attempted smother that knocked out Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw will put his AFL season in jeopardy.
Young Melbourne forward Jacob van Rooyen will also sweat on how match review officer Michael Christian assesses his high swinging arm on Collingwood tall Dan McStay, and whether that rules him out of a sudden-death semi-final.
Brayshaw will miss Melbourne’s semi-final against either Carlton or Sydney under AFL concussion protocols after he was flattened by Maynard less than 10 minutes into Thursday night’s 9.6 (60) to 7.11 (53) loss at the MCG.
Maynard jumped towards Brayshaw, attempting to smother his kick inside 50, and turned and collected the midfielder high with his shoulder, knocking him out cold.
Brayshaw required lengthy attention on the field before leaving the field on a stretcher and in a neck brace.
The on-field umpire could be heard on the broadcast saying Maynard was reported for the high contact.
“I don’t want to say too much, but it’s a footy act,” Maynard told the Seven Network.
“I came forward, I jumped to smother the ball and yeah, unfortunately I just got him on the way down.
“So I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin certainly wasn’t doing Maynard any favours.
Brayshaw, 27, cannot play again for at least another 12 days, while he has a lengthy concussion history and wears headgear.
“I guess that’ll be sorted out during the week, but we’ve got a pretty shattered player (Brayshaw) in there,” Goodwin said.
“Look, you can only go by the facts: he jumped off the ground and knocked a guy out.
“So I guess time will tell.”
Beyond the concussion, Goodwin said Brayshaw only had a “shiner”.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae queried whether there was malice to Maynard’s action.
“I’ve caught it on a phone. One view of it, one angle, it looks like he’s in the air,” he said.
“The act itself, it didn’t look like it had much malice but I’ll leave it up to others to decide if that’s worthy of a suspension or not. I don’t know.”
Van Rooyen collected McStay on the jaw with his arm after the Magpie dropped a mark in the first quarter and the ball spilled between them.
Goodwin said: “I haven’t really seen too much of it but I’m pretty sure McStay stayed on the ground.”
The Magpie went off the ground for a concussion assessment but returned and played out the game.
(AAP)
Angus Brayshaw was knocked unconscious in a collision with Brayden Maynard. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Collingwood players have made sure to include defender John Noble in their victory celebrations following the Magpies’ seven-point qualifying final win over Melbourne, despite him being dropped from the team.
Noble, who had played 83 consecutive games prior to being left out of the 23 for Thursday night’s final, was embraced by his teammates on Wednesday afternoon after the call was made by Magpie selectors; before ensuring the 26-year old was part of a raucous rendition of the Collingwood club song after their win over the Demons.
Speaking to Seven, Pies defender Isaac Quaynor, who pulled Noble into the huddle, said the gesture was about recognising the role he played in getting the Magpies to a qualifying final in the first place.
“It was obviously one of those calls that is just so tough,” Quaynor said of Noble’s omission.
“We played basically every game together… we’re good mates. It was tough to see him go out.
“The way he’s come and supported the group, his attitude, especially today, was unbelievable.
“As you can see in the end everyone was getting around him. He got in the huddle. He’s a big reason we got to the final. Shout out, Johnny Noble.”
Noble’s path back into the team may depend on whether Brayden Maynard is suspended for the collision with Angus Brayshaw that concussed the star Demon.
Ever-present rumours over Richmond champion Dustin Martin finishing his career elsewhere are set to go into overdrive, after the triple premiership hero was spotted reuniting with old coach Damien Hardwick on the Gold Cost.
Martin, who won three Norm Smith Medals in the Tigers’ 2017, 2019 and 2020 grand final wins, was photographed meeting with premiership coach Hardwick, who recently took over as senior coach of the Gold Coast Suns, at a pub on Thursday afternoon, in vision made exclusively available to Channel Seven.
Martin remains contracted until the end of 2024, but speculation has long existed about a move away from the Melbourne bubble to finish his glittering career.
In 2022, reports he would seek a trade to Sydney were proved false, but the presence of Hardwick at the Suns would make a move north a logical destination should he wish to leave Punt Road.
However, speaking on Fox Footy, former great Leigh Montagna was sceptical that the meeting would be more than a catch-up between old friends.
It’s hard to decipher whether he’s meeting the Gold Coast Suns coach or meeting a mentor and a very good friend and someone he’s had so much success with, who he probably hasn’t seen since whenever Dimma left,” Montagna said.
“I’m sure they enjoyed a few vodka lime sodas and just caught up. I don’t think he’ll end up on the Gold Coast.”
Martin’s departure would be the latest in a string of changes at Tigerland in recent months: the club will head into 2023 with a new coach for the first time since Hardwick was appointed at the end of 2009, while stalwarts Jack Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin have both retired.
© AAP
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