Chook

And there it is. Blame Brayshaw.

Objection: speculation.

I'm afraid of this too. I think the AFL cooked this one arguing for the wrong thing. I think they should have argued that the moment he left his feet with that amount of force and that level of uncontrollability, there was no possible outcome other than what amounts to a bump. The 'spoil' component of this has got next to no bearing on it imo.

There was a decision to bump. The moment Maynard left the ground, there was no other outcome. Like when you throw a frisbee once it has been thrown there's no taking it back.

You're nearly there mate…who initiated the inevitable contact?

https://go.arena.im/live/fox-sports-australia/e34cFA9?v=2

The biomechanist seems to be proceeding on the basis Maynard didn't know Brayshaw was there. That's false at the least, and indicates recklessness at the best. He's smothering the ball from front on - he has to know where the kicker is and therefore has far longer than 400 milliseconds to react - his "reaction" is the smother - seconds worth of time to plan and execute.

This seems strange. It's a known human reflex to put out your arms and hands to break your fall. It's not a reflex to rotate your hip in the direction of the player you're hitting. That Maynard didn't put out his hands indicates some level of conscious reaction. In fact Maynard even admitted he saw Brayshaw and knew he was there.

It's Zita's schtick but it's a bit unprofessional IMO. Leave the wisecracks to people who aren't getting paid to report on it.

I hope Brayshaw's partner has held onto those flowers and that wine and leaves them on Maynard's doorstep along with a card reading: "My condolences for your unexpected unavailability for the finals"

This is a dumb line of reasoning from the AFL here IMO. To me the issue was it became a head-high bump when he failed to successfully smother and hit him high with his hip. Everything else is secondary.

Looking at the running upvotes/downvotes on each blog post there is a 3:1 Collingwood to Melbourne supporter ratio.

Maynard reckons he touched the ball with his hand, straight out of the Marchbank textbook (it touched Marchbank's forearm if anything, and Maynard wasn't within cooee). No chance he touched it.

Garbage.

Football act count: 1

For those interested, here's a link to the live blog being run by David Zita, for minute by minute updates: https://go.arena.im/live/fox-sports-australia/e34cFA9?v=2

Simon Says the Dees heads shoulders, knees and does won't stop old McDonald from picking up the pieces. This news comes just a week after all the King's men at St Kilda had a great fall against the Giants after climbing the beanstalk from outside the 8 last year. In the meantime, four and twenty magpies will be watching the Maynard trial intently as Collingwood hopes to bring home the bacon at market.

If I were Brayshaw I'd try my best to get right for the prelim/grand final and then call it quits after that win lose or draw. It's a personal choice, and might not even be a realistic one depending on his symptoms and the scan. Another 3-5 years of knocks and potential concussions are not worth the risk but to me 3 weeks and out is worth it. The fact he's already running a day after his brain scan and 5 days after the incident is positive for sure.

What I've seen from Pies fans this week is honestly some of the worst garbage I've experienced in my time on this earth and has made me genuinely sad for the future of the world, as it's an insight into the spiteful hate simmering beneath the surface of so many people's brains. The worst thing is I've found myself tempted to go there too, and it's just not worth it.

This is one of the few times I'd want to be coached by Luke Beveridge rather than Simon Goodwin. Bevo would have the whole club breathing fire and running through brick walls.

You can tell he's absolutely filthy. Or "salty" to quote a few morons I've dealt with this week. Luke Beveridge would coach this side to a flag from this spot. Can Simon harness the energy for good? I worry he can't - it's not his style.

Apparently they have the same manager (Brayshaw and Maynard). If I were Maynard I would have asked my manager to check in with Brayshaw and ask whether he'd be ok with me coming over to apologise in person at x time on x day. You don't just "pop in".

If someone ever threatens to quit, you make them do it immediately imo.

I agree, which is why he needs to lift for the team and play that role even if he isn't comfortable. He's our best shot of making it work.