Collingwood great Nathan Buckley is adamant Brayden Maynard should not have a case to answer for the Magpies defender’s controversial collision with Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw.
Maynard will learn his fate at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night for the incident in the first quarter of the Pies’ qualifying final win, which saw Brayshaw concussed and ruled out of the Demons’ must-win semi final against Carlton, with no guarantee he will return for a preliminary final should they make it either.
Direct to Tribunal hearings usually carry with them a minimum three-week suspension unless the case is thrown out, which would rule Maynard out of the rest of the season, including a grand final if the Magpies qualify.
Speaking on SEN Breakfast, Buckley, who coached Maynard at the Pies until 2021, suggesting that the club’s ‘love them or hate them’ status in the AFL has led to some of the debate over the divisive incident.
“I certainly hope that we take the colours of the guernseys out of it – that we look at the circumstances of the matter and that we’re actually fair to these guys that are playing football at break-neck speed,” Buckley said.
For Buckley, the ‘grey area’ around what head contact is legal in the AFL and what isn’t is creating confusion in all areas of the league, from players to fans to broadcasters, with inconsistency around what players are permitted to do causing further problems.
“There have been players that have been suspended this year for acts that I don’t think are outside what you would expect a footballer to do,” Buckley said.
“This idea of duty of care and this idea of protecting the head has had this groundswell of focus around it. We’ve seen players, in my view, that have been penalised and suspended for acts that I think that others have been let go of.
“Yes, we do get head contact that’s not penalised… there’s a lot of grey area here for me, because if you went all-in on this duty of care and this medico legal issue around concussion and head knocks, you’d be rubbing out five or six players on potential damage to the head every week.”
Co-host and Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes, who has been strong in his belief that Maynard should avoid suspension for the incident, agreed, saying a ban for the divisive Pie would set a dangerous precedent.
“He [Maynard] is running flat out and he’s jumping in the air. He cannot disappear,” Cornes said.
“You actually have to brace and half protect yourself otherwise you both get knocked out. There’s always going to be accidents. We see knees to the head in marking contests all the time and no one cares about it. The AFL doesn’t care about that from a legal perspective.
“You can jump up, drive your knee into someone’s head running back with the flight of the ball, and as long as you’re looking to take a mark you’re fine. But you can’t jump and try to smother the football.
“I’m really fired up about it. It’s unfair to think he could have done anything else in that circumstance.”
Should Maynard receive a suspension from the Tribunal, it’s highly likely the Magpies will take the matter to the AFL Appeals Board, which the Giants successfully did regarding forward Toby Bedford’s one-match suspension in Round 24 to free him for their elimination final win over St Kilda.
