The AFL will closely examine the collision between Brayden Maynard and Angus Brayshaw to determine whether players in a similar situation should have a case to answer after declaring the tribunal verdict was “not the outcome the AFL sought”.
The league has flagged a review of players’ duty of care towards their opponents will take place before the 2024 season, as it decided on Wednesday not to appeal the tribunal’s decision to clear Maynard after Angus Brayshaw was concussed in the first quarter of the qualifying final.
AFL football boss Laura Kane said the league would have appealed the decision if it felt there were grounds for a challenge.
“It’s a difficult incident, it’s really challenging for everybody involved, but we didn’t feel there were grounds to appeal,” Kane told reporters on Wednesday.
“If we did feel there were grounds to appeal, we would have.”
Maynard is now certain to take part in the Magpies’ preliminary final following the league’s decision.
It comes after the AFL intervened to charge Maynard and send his case to be examined by the tribunal following reports match review officer Michael Christian had initially decided not charge him.
Kane denied there was any frustration from her or Christian over the process to send the case to the tribunal, which she admitted was a “baptism of fire” after only a fortnight in her position.
“No issue … I won’t enter into hypotheticals, but I’m really comfortable with the model that we have and I was in regular contact with Michael (Christian) all weekend.”
“Chrisso’s passionate, he’s passionate about football … about his role, and he holds it in utmost importance.”
“Yes (it was) a baptism of fire, but nothing is unexpected in our game.”
The league announced the decision shortly after the 12pm deadline on Wednesday, saying in a statement it had given the verdict “careful consideration”.
“The AFL has decided not to appeal the Tribunal’s decision,” the statement read.
“The AFL understands that the outcome of this case will not sit well with everyone who watches and plays our game.
“No one likes to see a player suffer a serious concussion as Angus Brayshaw did and also see the impact the incident had on him, his family and friends, his teammates and his club.
The statement flagged a review of how incidents like Maynard’s attempted smother would be policed heading into next season.
“The health and safety of players in our game will always be the AFL’s priority and regardless of the tribunal outcome this incident will be subject to close examination at the end of the season.”
Kane said if rules were tweaked around players’ duty of care over the off-season, it would not be simply to address the specific scenario involving Maynard and Brayshaw.
“We review all rules and regulations, so the process that we go through at the end of each season is not contained to one incident, necessarily,” she said.
FATHER OF CURRENT DEMON LASHES TRIBUNAL ‘EMBARRASSMENT’
After a marathon four-hour sitting on Tuesday night, the tribunal cleared Maynard of wrongdoing, finding he acted reasonably in trying to smother Brayshaw’s kick during the first quarter of the qualifying final.
The tribunal said he did not have time to react differently when he turned his shoulder and made contact with Brayshaw’s head.
The Melbourne midfielder, who has a history of concussion, was unconscious for about two minutes following the collision.
Former Demons footballer Shaun Smith, who is the father of current player Joel, described the verdict as an “embarrassment and an absolute joke”.
Replying to comments under a Facebook post he wrote on Tuesday night, Smith slammed the tribunal decision as “absolutely disgusting” and called the AFL a “disgusting organisation”.
Smith, 54, has linked repetitive concussions during his playing career with ongoing mental health issues in retirement, and has committed to donating his brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank for testing as he believes he is suffering from CTE.
In 2020 he was awarded a landmark $1.4m insurance payout for damage from concussion during his playing career.
Brayshaw ran laps at Casey Fields on Tuesday as Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said he had improved over the last few days, but it is unclear whether he will return during the finals series.
Goodwin said there had been no discussions between Brayshaw and the club about retirement, but “nothing was off the table” as the Demons prioritised his health.