Collingwood star Brayden Maynard has been sent straight to the tribunal by the MRO, meaning his finals could be over for a collision with Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw, while Demon Jacob van Royen has copped a one-match suspension.
If Maynard’s ban is upheld, the sentence carries a minimum three-match suspension, meaning he’d miss the Magpies’ preliminary final in a fortnight’s time and a potential grand final.
It’ll come down to how the tribunal grades the act in what looms as a defining case in Collingwood’s premiership campaign.
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“I believe that Brayden Maynard will be sent straight to the AFL Tribunal for what I believe will be a severe and careless impact rough conduct charge,” Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph said on Fox Footy.
Maynard early in the first quarter of Collingwood’s Qualifying Final win over Melbourne on Thursday night collected Brayshaw high after an ill-timed spoil attempt, causing the concussed Demon to be stretchered off the field.
The setback rules out Brayshaw from his side’s semi-final clash next week against either Carlton or Sydney, while van Royen will also miss the crucial showdown.
Despite the brutal hit – that saw Maynard placed on report by the umpire – the Collingwood vice-captain downplayed the collision as a “football act”
“I don’t want to say too much, but it’s a footy act,” he told Channel 7 post-match.
“I came forward, I jumped to smother the ball and unfortunately I just got him on the way down.
“We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but it’s all love, I absolutely love that guy to bits. It’s shattering what happened.”
“Maynard continued: “It is stressful, but you’ve sort of got to move on. It’s a bloody intense game, it requires a lot mentally and physically. “That’s why we’re built for this, it’s finals.”
MORE TO COME.