Yes sure, but here’s the thing, he didn’t and he collected a guy in the head. It was reckless even though you can understand the leap to try and get a hand to the ball. He still made the choice to jump and collect the guy though.
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You just know that people hanging him would be arguing the opposite case if it was one of our blokes. “What was he supposed to do? etc”
There’s a lot of hypocrisy going on here IMO.
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Given the gap between the point of impact of the kick and Maynard, his only option besides barreling straight through Brayshaw and giving away a free kick was attempt to smother.
Sounds like you’re suggesting if the ball hit his arm it wouldn’t be reportable.
Seeing those pics where he’s trying to smother, it’s kind of hard to imagine how he’s gone from that position to bumping Brayshaw in the head.
Even harder to imagine how you’d make that transition accidentally.
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Although I retired from AFL at age 11 to play sports where I didn’t get hurt, I still must’ve seen and attempted a zillion smothers and I’ve never seen a player kicking the ball get knocked out. This would be seriously difficult to execute.
The pies probably practice it along with squirrel gripping and elbowing opponents in the head.
edit - wimmera, am I your burner account, or did you just send those same thoughts to me?
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Exactly he would be 6-7 metres away when he kicked the ball, the ball passes him around 4 metres, in that time he goes from smother pose to full on shoulder bump which was reckless and high, causing concussion
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Gee who’d have thought that when when you realise there is an impending physical collision imminent that it’s an instinctive human reaction to brace/protect yourself rather than leave yourself open. This whole thing happens in a split second.
Again, if all of you can hand on heart say that you’d be on here apportioning blame and culpability on Zac Merrett or any of our blokes in this exact scenario then whilst I’d disagree, fair play cos at least it’s a genuinely held conviction.
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He’d be an asset, that’s for sure
His action wasn’t limited to sticking his arms up and trying to smother. It includes the run and jump, which resulted in the late+high contact, which is against the rules.
The AFL expects players to assess whether their actions will be safe (and not against the rules) before they commit to them. If they are unsafe\against the rules, the AFL expects the players to not do them. “Going for the ball” is no excuse (except in marking contests.) Maynard either didn’t assess, assessed badly, or ignored his assessment and elected to do it anyway. In any case, he’s done the wrong thing.
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Does blame even enter into it?
I mean, I definitely think there are other options besides turning your body and tucking your elbow, but let’s say there weren’t…does that even matter?
Maybe less than two metres away when the ball passed his arm
I have watched it many times, and Maynard had jumped off the ground, before the ball hit Brayshaws foot. He didn’t miss the smother by much, and he turned his body and tucked his shoulder to protect himself.
These Brayshaw blokes seem to have no idea about protecting themselves. Just minutes before he through himself onto a Pies players knee.
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From what exactly?
When his preferred option seems to have been shouldering someone else in the head…
You can only blame Maynard if the act should have been reasonably foreseen to end up a reportable offence by the player himself.
He snaps his shoulder forward, he did more than just brace.
I take your point about what we’d be saying if it were zerrett, I get that the “footy act” argument is not entirely without basis. But it’s equally arguable that he breached his duty of care to Brayshaw by driving his shoulder forward as he did. He absolutely could have protected himself and not knocked out Brayshaw.
It will be an interesting tribunal hearing
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Absolutely it does IMO. Because it was a neutral football act (i.e. a smother) rather than it being during the course of an aggressive football act (i.e. a bump or a tackle).
Even this year with the crackdown there have still been instances where guys have been concussed and the “perpetrator” has not been charged (Andrew Brayshaw when Libba concussed) and others where the player has not copped weeks where a player was concussed (Tom Lynch on Alex Keath).
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That’s fair.
I guess the question is whether it started as a smother but became a bump.
I’m wondering what sort of outcome there would have been if Maynard had held his stance.
I guess there’s the possibility of a clash of heads…
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Seeing a lot of people struggle/refuse to seperate the act of trying to smother, with then deciding to brace his shoulder and pivot.
I’m of the belief it’s essentially two seperate actions, the latter of which being a reportable offense given the outcome.
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I think most players (especially those with years of AFL experience) would be able to foresee that choosing to run and jump with arms raised (even if it is to smother) towards another player in close proximity (who happens to be moving towards them) would result in high contact.
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