Maynard incident > Maynard rule > Brayshaw retirement

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

Maynard should have smootherd the golf ball.

[Take_a_Screamer]

^^ The injured golfer's being promised some tickets to the King's birthday game.
This means Brayshaw won't be rubbed out at the golfer's tribunal.

[Piethagoras' Theorem]

I'm disgusted. Surely he would've realised, mid swing, that his tee shot would hit another golfer. Could've shanked it and taken the mulligan!

[What'sinaname]

[Take_a_Screamer]

If Maynard did the same thing in round one as he did in the qualifying final, he would not be suspended
By Peter Ryan, February 7, 2024

If, in the opening round of the 2024 season, Brayden Maynard were to be involved in another smother incident like the one with Angus Brayshaw from last year’s finals series, he would be cleared. Of course, that’s not what the whistling-averse AFL hopes, with its tweaked tribunal guidelines announced on Tuesday. But it is the only conclusion to be drawn when examining the judgment of tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson KC, which led to Maynard being cleared last season, next to the rule the AFL Commission rubber-stamped on Monday. Under the new rule, players who elect to leave the ground in an attempt to smother will be liable if there exists “any reasonably foreseeable high contact with an opponent that is at least low impact” unless a player has taken “all reasonable steps to avoid that high contact and/or minimise the force of that high contact (for example, by adopting a body position that minimises the force of the high contact).”

If the AFL thinks the new rule will ensure no repeat of the Maynard-Brayshaw drama, it is whistling Dixie. The tribunal ruling that cleared Maynard was explicit: the Magpie defender could not have reasonably foreseen high contact with Brayshaw when he left the ground and he took reasonable steps to avoid the high contact. Gleeson accepted that Maynard could not have foreseen the collision on the basis that Brayshaw had changed direction after kicking, still images supporting “Maynard’s evidence that he did not expect Brayshaw to be where he ultimately saw him to be after he took his eyes off the ball and looked down to see Brayshaw.”

If it’s accepted Maynard could not reasonably foresee contact, as the tribunal did, until he was in mid air in the opening minutes of the finals, he could not be found to reasonably foresee contact in round one, 2024. Unless, of course, a broader view was taken that having been involved in last year’s incident he should have had a heightened awareness of the risk. That would be like arguing Aaron Naughton should be conscious of the risk of knocking someone out if he flies for a mark given it’s happened before.

The tribunal’s words in September were clear. “We are not at all satisfied that a reasonable player would have foreseen that violent impact or impact of the type suffered by Brayshaw was inevitable or even likely,” the judgment read.
As to the second part of the guidelines, which expects a player who foresees the potential for high contact to avoid the contact or minimise the force of that high contact, the tribunal judgment was clear that Maynard had taken “all reasonable steps” to do that once he realised contact was happening. “It is asking a lot of a player to decide in a fraction of a second which various ways to land, a high-speed collision, and which of those ways of landing might result in which type of reportable offence,” Gleeson wrote.

The tribunal accepted ACU professor Michael Cole’s evidence that it was impossible for Maynard to make a conscious decision as to how to land given the speed events unfolded. The biomechanics and neuroscience expert’s opinion was found to be consistent with a common-sense view of the incident. The judgment also argued that if Maynard had taken steps to minimise the force of the contact with Brayshaw he would have exposed himself to a risk of being injured. It may well be what the AFL is asking of a player in Maynard’s position: injure yourself rather than knock your opponent out.

Even if Maynard had choices, not many were considered palatable to the tribunal, which found: “[Maynard] would have had to weigh up what his other options were and whether they were more or less likely to cause harm to Brayshaw. It is not an irrelevant consideration that these other possible methods of landing foreseeably have resulted in harm to Maynard.” Of course the AFL had to act given the concerns around the injury Brayshaw suffered. Many still hold the view, which at least one influential club figure without a dog in the fight expressed in the off-season, that Maynard should have been suspended, but the rules didn’t allow it. Football boss Laura Kane hopes they do now. “I was transparent about the incident. I was transparent that I wasn’t comfortable with the outcome. I wasn’t comfortable with the outcome through our MRO processes, and further we weren’t comfortable with the outcome of the tribunal,” Kane said.

Given such an incident – and outcome – had not happened before, the expectation is that the rule, like the one to expose whistle-blowers, will change behaviour rather than needing enforcement. As a potential motivator to change behaviour the new smother rule – clearly a name the football, not marketing, department arrived at – has merit. But it’s doubtful the new smother rule will lead to anyone caught in the Maynard act being suspended.

Link:
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/overruled-why-maynard-would-escape-ban-for-another-smother-20240207-p5f344.html

[LaurieHolden]

Please respect the fact a player has been forced into early retirement.
https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/angus-brayshaw-forced-into-early-afl-retirement-after-latest-concussion-c-13684268

Shame such a gun player is taken from the game. Go well young man.
Reflect on if it was one of our own. Not dissimilar to Josh Diacos.
https://www.statsinsider.com.au/sport-hub/afl/player-dna?p1=Angus%20Brayshaw&p2=Josh%20Daicos

While Maynard will be seen as the protagonist here, just cool your jets before jumping to any expectation that it's entirely due to that incident.
Don't play the antagonist.

CTE has been strongly linked with mental illness, and this needs to be taken into the account of all players welfare.

LH on behalf of the Mods

[woodys_world69]

yes lets hope the media don't bring Maynard into this.

[qldmagpie67]

Hope he has a healthy long life after football
Call me sceptical but the timing of this announcement given the Smith issue seems very helpful to there cultural plight

[Culprit]

I'm open to conspiracy theories and in saying that his history of head knocks is what has caused the end of his career. He still has a lot to offer Football outside of playing.

[The Black and White Lion]

Very unfortunate for Angus Brayshaw and sad that his career has ended this way. He does have one premiership cup so more than most AFL players on record.

McCartin last year. There's been a few players who played too long without the medical support to stop early. Either way we all wish them the best of a healthy life.

Every team will have a story.

Could be our Nathan Murphy too in future.

[lazzadesilva]

[Bucks5]

Yeah, Fox sports posted this 6 hours ago. No context, no nothing....

https://www.foxsports.com.au/video/afl/afl/moment-maynard-knocks-out-angus-brayshaw!875230

[Jezza]

Unfortunate to hear about Brayshaw. Never good to see a player's career cut short but it's understandable in the circumstances.
The collision with Maynard was the straw that broke the camel's back, but Brayshaw had an extensive history of concussions going back to his early years as a player so it may have only been a matter of time.
Best wishes to him in retirement.

[Jezza]

Sensible comments by former Melbourne captain, Nathan Jones on the Maynard/Brayshaw incident.

https://twitter.com/SENSportsday/status/1760568084056899795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1760568084056899795%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

[LaurieHolden]

Well one thing should be clear to all, concussion is not something that Clubs will view as take a week off, recover and be back on the field next week.
I'm tired of reading the responses whenever Maynards involvement is included. Some of the reasoning I'd expect from teenagers, not as adults.
The real discussion and understanding and culture around concussion is thankfully being elevated beyond 'the bump', or 'was it a football act' or otherwise.
The focus should and will be on CTE and how we can reduce the impact on individuals and their life after concussion.