The tribunal hearing into Brayden Maynard’s role in the concussion of Angus Brayshaw will test the AFL on the ‘duty of care’ it owes to its playersBrayden Maynard’s airborne smother attempt in the qualifying final saw Angus Brayshaw carted off with concussion, drew the usual battlelines and exposed footy’s many fault lines. His tribunal hearing will test our tribal loyalties, our governing body, our football media, our former champions, our understanding of the laws of the game, and our definitions of ‘football acts’ and ‘duty of care’.It’s a test case for the AFL and its new General Manager of Football Laura Kane. For so long, the AFL has met these issues just short of halfway – they’ve done the sums,...
Speedy Pies win 9.6 (60) to 7.11 (53) over Demons Coaches agree to disagree over Brayshaw collision The Collingwood players ran out for their qualifying final the way they always do – gambolling about and whooping it up. But the frolics didn’t last long. It was a brutal opening. It saw spotfires, hyperextended knees, errant elbows, concussion tests and a bloodcurdling collision between Brayden Maynard and Angus Brayshaw. “It’s a footy act,” Maynard later said. “He jumped off the ground and knocked a guy out,” Melbourne coach, Simon Goodwin, countered. “It didn’t look like it had much malice,” his opposite number, Craig McRae, offered. Like all things tribunals and finals, we throw our hands in the air, hope the player’s...
Goal review debacle and shock results killed off some suspense but last weekend’s upheaval shows nothing is certain in footballAs the AFL was reminded again last weekend, to its significant chagrin, there is no such thing as a certainty in sport after a round that damaged reputations and decimated finals hopes. Not only did a goal review farce sink Adelaide and further dent the battered commodity known as the integrity of the competition, a string of shock results in the penultimate round has largely robbed the AFL of a fairy-tale lead-in to the finals series.The suspense is not completely killed off as flag contenders jostle for position but the final round of the season is not the blockbuster envisaged earlier...
By trusting tagger Finn Maginness, Hawks coach Sam Mitchell gifted every AFL team a blueprint on how to do itThere’s a chapter in Tony Wilson’s book about the 1989 Grand Final that focuses on Scott Maginness, Hawthorn’s young chiropractic student slated to play on Geelong’s Gary Ablett. The Cats star was in murderous touch, fresh from a preposterous eight-goal performance in the Preliminary Final. “You’re wanting to not make a fool of yourself,” Maginness tells Wilson. “You want all those things you’ve always dreamed about, but know at any point it could all go horribly pear shaped.”He arrives home and tells his two brothers who he’s playing on. “Oh shit,” they say in unison. Continue reading...
They’re a mix of blithe spirits, father-son thoroughbreds and bargain basement pickups. But for all their differences, Collingwood proved in the thrilling win over Port Adelaide that they are united in their ruthlessness.As Collingwood prepared to run out at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, Craig McRae was in a side room meditating. Whether you’re coaching them, plotting against them, or taking them in as a neutral, centring yourself for ten or 15 minutes isn’t a bad strategy because just watching the Magpies can leave you jangled.It makes sense that Collingwood’s psychologist sits on the bench during games, a few seats up from the coach. She hammers home key messages and puts her arm around some of the more hot-headed...