‘Justice has been done’: Eddie McGuire, AFL react as Brayden Maynard cleared

The AFL assemblage has reacted swiftly aft Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard was cleared by the Tribunal successful a much than four-hour hearing.

Evidence was heard for 3 hours earlier an hr of deliberations but the Tribunal recovered that Maynard’s enactment was “reasonable” aft his smother connected an Angus Brayshaw footwear went truthful well.

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It was the archetypal 4th of Thursday night’s qualifying last erstwhile Maynard attempted to smother, but collided with Brayshaw, leaving the Demons prima reportedly unconscious for 2 minutes.

While it was large quality for the Collingwood faithful, it’s perchance not implicit with the AFL capable to acceptable it to the appeals board.

It wouldn’t beryllium a shocking determination either aft AFL enforcement wide manager of shot Laura Kane sent the shot satellite into a frenzy after sending the incidental straight to the Tribunal under her sanction alternatively than nether Match Review Officer Michael Christian.

But arsenic it stands, Maynard volition beryllium capable to play successful adjacent week’s preliminary last against the victor of Port Adelaide and GWS astatine the MCG.

It intelligibly went down good with erstwhile Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, who was astatine a dinner.

Ex-Collingwood and Carlton prima Dale Thomas posted a video connected Instagram Stories with McGuire lasting up and tapping his solid earlier saying: “Ladies and gentlemen, justness has been done. Brayden Maynard is escaped to play for the Pies.”

One of the radical astatine his array added done laughter: “Sit down dad.”

Collingwood GM of shot Graham Wright spoke aft the determination and passed good wishes to Brayshaw.

He said it had been a “long 4 oregon 5 days” for the nine and Maynard.

Asked if the nine had done immoderate enactment if the AFL bash situation the decision, Wright said: “That’s up to the AFL.

“I deliberation that’ll beryllium time if that’s the case. But we thought Jeff Gleeson’s (AFL Tribunal chair) summation of the Tribunal proceeding and what we enactment guardant arsenic grounds and what the AFL enactment guardant arsenic grounds was truly clear. So we’re hopeful that this is it.”

AFL 360 big Gerard Whateley said that helium didn’t judge the AFL would spell down the way of sending it to the Appeals board.

“I deliberation that was thoroughly tested, the rules against the incident, the 2 cases connected merit, determination were nary errors that I could detect,” Whateley said.

“I deliberation they did their bit, they enactment it up, Collingwood’s defence proves excessively strong, permission it be.”

But Hamish Brayshaw, the member of Angus who pointed to the information the effect would person “set a precedent for a agelong time, whether helium gets disconnected oregon whether helium doesn’t”, said the AFL should Appeal.

Speaking connected SEN’s Sportsday, Hamish said: “I astir apt would be.

“I deliberation if it went not blameworthy and nary 1 appealed it from their end, I deliberation it would beryllium a small spot of an injustice due to the fact that if it goes the different way, I’m definite Collingwood volition beryllium appealing it,” helium said.

“I’m not implicit the ins and outs of the Tribunal but if you permission the crushed and marque interaction with the face, you sound idiosyncratic out, that’s been the mode it’s been.

“I recognize it’s antithetic with the unit of a last and each the remainder of it … there’s been a batch of radical accidental it’s going to acceptable a precedent and it’s divided a batch of people.

“For me, truly astatine the extremity of the day, that doesn’t fuss maine arsenic overmuch of the result of (Angus’) wellness but it’s surely 1 I’ll beryllium paying adjacent attraction to.”

Social media rapidly erupted and continued to beryllium conscionable arsenic divided arsenic it has been each week.

However, Port Adelaide 300-gamer Kane Cornes deed retired astatine the AFL’s arguments aft the league’s counsel Andrew Woods claimed that behaviour was “unreasonable” and questioned wherefore Maynard didn’t leap much upright and should person either kept his arms up oregon cushioned the stroke by wrapping his arms astir Brayshaw.

Cornes intelligibly disagreed.

“I deliberation Brayden Maynard’s done a beauteous bully occupation – from what I’m speechmaking successful the unrecorded updates – successful his grounds to support himself … he’s fundamentally said it was an instant determination … he’s calling it a flinch and it is much of a flinch than a brace oregon anything,” Cornes told SEN’s Sportsday.

“(But) Andrew Woods for the AFL has been precise unrealistic with what he’s suggesting Brayden could person done.

“Does helium (Woods) not recognize the trajectory of moving astatine 22km/h? You can’t tally that fast, halt past leap upright. Clearly your momentum is going to transportation you forward.

“It’s 1 of the much ridiculous arguments I’ve heard. That’s not personal, that’s conscionable my view.

“Have you played the game? Have you tally afloat velocity trying to bash the aforesaid happening oregon are you conscionable watching it successful slow-mo connected a TV screen?”

Similarly, earlier the determination was handed down Gerard Healy questioned the telephone from Kane to notation it straight to the Tribunal.

“How tin Laura Kane telephone Brayden Maynard’s incidental a bump, erstwhile the AFL were blessed to judge Tom Lynch’s (incident against the Dogs successful April) was a brace conscionable a fewer months ago. It’s illogical and reeks of rules connected the run, which arsenic acold arsenic a subordinate is acrophobic is chaos starring to imaginable injustice,” Healy said.

Gleeson and the Tribunal recovered “We are not astatine each satisfied that a tenable subordinate would person foreseen that convulsive interaction oregon interaction of the benignant suffered by Brayshaw was inevitable oregon adjacent likely.”

The uncovering besides claimed Maynard was “not careless successful either his determination to smother oregon the mode successful which his assemblage formed”.

While besides citing grounds of biomechanist Professor Michael Cole, who stated: “Once airborne, Maynard had nary accidental to debar the collision.”

He besides said that Maynard’s assemblage presumption erstwhile helium appeared to brace himself wasn’t a conscious determination and that erstwhile helium jumped, helium was “essentially a projectile”, “like a frisbee with arms and legs”.