No ban for ump contact, but players cop hefty fines; Questions remain over time missing from Blues v Tigers

Gold Coast’s Ben Long copped a two-match suspension for a hit on Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard, who was slugged with three different fines for his involvement in a fiery AFL clash on Saturday.

The penalties were announced by the AFL match review officer on Sunday, with a total of more than $60,000 in fines imposed from the four games on Saturday.

More than 20 offences were highlighted from the game between the Suns and Magpies at People First Stadium, with Maynard (fines of $8000) the hardest hit.

He and former Gold Coast captain Touk Miller were both fined $5000 on a charge of misconduct because they both made contact with umpire Nick Brown during a melee that erupted on the half-time siren.

“The incident involving Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard and Gold Coast’s Touk Miller involving umpire Nicholas Brown … was reviewed by the match review officer,” the AFL explained in a statement.

“The sanction for … [misconduct] is at the absolute discretion of the match review officer, who has determined a $5000 fine is payable by both players.”

The MRO did not find either player’s actions fitted the criteria for charges of “intentional” contact with the umpire, which would have seen both players sent straight to the tribunal. Nor did the MRO find their actions qualified as “unreasonable or unnecessary” or “careless” contact with the umpire, which would have opened the door for a fixed fine.

“The prescribed sanction for that fixed financial offence is inadequate in all the circumstances and does not reflect their seriousness,” according to the AFL statement.

Unlike the bulk of the penalties arising from Saturday, neither Maynard nor Miller can get this fine reduced with an early plea. However, the AFL did note they still had the option of challenging the charges at the tribunal.

Maynard was fronting up to Gold Coast’s Bailey Humphrey after a Suns goal in the second term when Long came in from the side to hit the Magpies defender in the ribs with a swinging arm.

The MRO suspended Long for two games for the incident, rating the contact to Maynard’s body as intentional and high. Gold Coast will have until Monday to decide whether to challenge that ban at the tribunal.

The incident sparked a wild all-in melee, with shoes lost and the jumper of Collingwood defender Billy Frampton torn – all while Maynard lay crumpled on the turf in pain.

In total, 11 Gold Coast players and four Magpies were penalised over the second-quarter disturbance, most receiving fines of $1500 for either instigating or engaging in a melee which can be reduced to $1000 on an early plea.

When Maynard was finally able to get to his feet in time for the next centre ball-up, he started remonstrating with Long. Seconds later the half-time siren sounded, with Maynard immediately sprinting across to Long to resume their battle.

Brown could see the trouble coming and was standing in front of Long.

As Maynard rushed in, he placed two hands in Brown’s back to move the umpire out of the way so he could get to Long. Miller was just behind Maynard, attempting to stop the Pies hard man from getting to his Suns teammate. Miller also made contact with Brown.

“It could be the dumbest thing we’ve seen for the year,” North Melbourne great David King said on the Kayo coverage.

“The umpires are a no-go zone.”

Maynard was left with several visible scratches on his neck and arms after the melee but he and Long seemingly made peace after the match, with the pair sharing an embrace and a chat.

Maynard revelled in his tit-for-tat with Long.

“If you’re going to come hit me cheaply, you’re going to get something back,” Maynard said after the match.

GWS captain Toby Greene was handed a six-match ban in 2021 for intentionally making contact with an umpire.

The fines from the Gold Coast-Collingwood game will amount to more than $30,000 if the players all accept the penalties.

Five melee fines were also imposed on players in Carlton’s win over Richmond on Saturday and four from the match between GWS and Fremantle. The Giants also had Harry Himmelberg fined for strriking the Dockers’ Nathan O’Driscoll, as well as Stephen Coniglio fined for attempting to trip Hayden Young. There was one fine from the game Launceston between Hawthorn and Melbourne, with Hawk Jai Newcombe slugged $3000 for attempting to trip his rival captain Max Gawn.

More timekeeping questions for AFL

Peter Ryan

More questions have emerged over the frantic finish to Carlton’s two-point win over Richmond on Saturday night, as 13 seconds appeared to incorrectly tick down on the clock in the final two minutes.

The potential timekeeping issue occurred when Blues defender Nick Haynes appealed to the umpire after conceding a controversial deliberate rushed behind with two minutes and one second left in the game.

The clock had stopped when the free kick was paid, but the Foxtel broadcast showed the seconds ticking down again as Haynes spoke to the umpire – and before he returned the ball to Richmond for the free kick.

In all, 13 seconds ran down before Mykelti Lefau was handed the footy, and the clock stopped at 1:38 remaining after Lefau kicked the goal. The match finished with the ball locked in Richmond’s forward line, but the Tigers ran out of time to kick another goal. They were denied a potential holding the ball free kick in the dying seconds, too, when Ben Ainsworth was adjudged not to have had prior opportunity despite taking steps into a tackle.

But the Tigers were allowed the shot at goal when Haynes was penalised for deliberately carrying the ball across the behind line.

There was just over two minutes left on the clock at the time, and the Blues led by 14 points, but the umpire awarded a free kick to Richmond, apparently ruling, under law 18.10, that Haynes had sufficient “time and space to dispose of the ball”.

But the footage from the goal line appeared to show that Haynes had already carried the ball over the line while under pressure, though the goal umpire did not call a behind.

Haynes then stepped behind the goal post, apparently to bring the ball back in from the behind, before the umpire called the free kick.

Despite Haynes motioning for the umpires to call for a video review, Lefau took the free kick for Richmond just a few metres out from goal, scoring a major that cut the margin to just eight points as Blues fans voiced their dissent.

The AFL’s review centre cannot overturn a free kick and, after a change in the rules following the round seven clash between St Kilda and West Coast, is not able to recall the ball once play restarts. But it can review whether the ball has crossed the line, which is what appeared to happen before the incident that led to free kick against Haynes. The AFL declined to comment on the deliberate decision or whether the umpire should have called for time off.

Calling the game for Fox Footy, commentator Dwayne Russell’s immediate reaction was that Haynes had conceded a point fairly.

“Haynes; clever enough to drag that through,” Russell said before he and his fellow broadcasters erupted when the free kick was paid.

But Haynes took responsibility for conceding the free kick after the game.

“I think if I took it over the first time I would have been sweet,” he said.

“I think that hesitation just not taking it over put a bit of less pressure on me, so therefore they paid it.

“It could have gone either way, but I think I should have rushed it over that first time and then we wouldn’t even be talking about it, so probably my fault.”

with AAP