Andrew Gaff hit on Brayshaw

Andrew Gaff's penalty will be...


  • Total voters
    684
  • Poll closed .

theGav56

Brownlow Medallist
Oct 11, 2004
29,348
29,310
Bali
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Fremantle
Nisbett (and Simpson) had no choice but to talk to the press, Had they refused they would have copped flack. Throughout the talk they both constantly said that both the club and Gaff had to own the situation and cop the penalty. Both emphasized that the process was underway and they would wait for that process to be completed. The media are pushing the line that both said they believed Gaff when he said it was not intentional. By that both meant the whack in the head was not intentional. They never denied the hit happened but were trying to explain that Gaff hadn't tried to "king hit" Brayshaw off the ball but had been trying to hit him across the chest to get away from the tag. Both said several times Gaff had got it horribly wrong. There is nothing wrong with a club trying to explain why a guy who had never done anything similar had done what occurred. The alternative would have been to say nothing and let everyone think the intention had been to "king hit" Brayshaw for no apparent reason. Any club would do the same. Of course that rabble calling themselves the media aren't interested in that and want to make more of it.

Having said that, Nisbett needs to ensure he uses better language when talking to those vultures and don't state things as facts unless he knows they are. It's pretty irrelevant but stating that they all played golf when it seems that hasn't been fully established just leaves him open to criticism. The situation with the cameraman on the NicNat injury was also poor as Simpson said one thing and was contradicted by Nisbett later. The club needs to look closely at it's media relations area (Gary Stocks)
I think it is a little shallow to take out of this that the club needs to take a look at their media relations area (that may be true). The cameraman issue was poor, so perhaps you are right.

Looking in retrospect, which is not the same as in real time, the ideal way to handle this in my opinion is for the club to immediately come out and make an anti-violence in football statement. Not to soften the issue with comments about Gaff's intentions or fabrications about Gaff and Brayshaw being golfing mates. He ended up looking silly while trying to square up with Lyon (there are others "outside" of the club they can get to do that kind of commentary).

It also needed to find a way for Nisbett to justify his recent support for suspension of players in lower leagues for on field violence that went beyond saying "it's different". It follows what many regard as poor stewardship over the drugs saga.

I have less issues with Simpson. Things could always have been done differently at the time, and that goes for every incident.
 

Ratcat

Premiership Player
Aug 28, 2017
4,773
5,469
AFL Club
Geelong
When you protect the willfully violent with minimal repercussions this sort of thing is bound to happen.
Brayshaw should sue the AFL for not providing a safe work place and Gaff for his actions.
7 commentators have plenty to answer for as well glorifying the rough elements of footy.
 
Jul 28, 2012
11,010
10,326
Melbourne, the lost City.
AFL Club
Geelong
Other Teams
QPR, Buffalo Bills
I think it should be a week for swinging a punch or elbow, not even connecting (I mean an action that is ruled deliberate). Two weeks as soon as you connect and add weeks for severity after that. No player has any need to deliberately swing a punch or elbow. Swinging punches isn't part of the game. Then there is no "I meant to hit him in the guts". As soon as you say that, you're suspended.
It's all a major over reaction IMO. This will be okay until the first player gets rubbed out for a feather tap and then the footy world will explode again. Are we going to allow this inept MRO system to handle that? He just dished out a fine of 2K to Aaron Francis for a perfectly legitimate bump last weekend...It will be abused. The players themselves need to sort this out, not a rule change. The AFL system actually handled the Gaff incident very well considering the appalling reporting and mass hysteria over the whole thing. Ask yourself this question: Do we want Gaeilic Football as the replacement for Aussie Rules?
 
May 5, 2006
62,726
70,017
AFL Club
West Coast
It's all a major over reaction IMO. This will be okay until the first player gets rubbed out for a feather tap and then the footy world will explode again. Are we going to allow this inept MRO system to handle that? He just dished out a fine of 2K to Aaron Francis for a perfectly legitimate bump last weekend...It will be abused. The players themselves need to sort this out, not a rule change. The AFL system actually handled the Gaff incident very well considering the appalling reporting and mass hysteria over the whole thing. Ask yourself this question: Do we want Gaeilic Football as the replacement for Aussie Rules?

Francis and Cunnington both fined from the weekend. That's the system we have right now.:rolleyes:
 
Oct 3, 2007
16,084
17,344
Perth
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
West Perth
Poor Gaff such a victim

Either I worded that wrong or you took that the wrong way. I was pointing out to another poster who said tagging, scragging, hasling players has been part of the game for decades and my point was back then players took things into their own hands and took care of it. Whether it be the player themselves or their team mates players openly targeting players were for decades getting retribution.
So remove it all from the game not just the final outcome. You can run with a player but you cannot grab, pull, punch, scrag anyone. This would go a long way to totally eliminate these things from ever happening again.
Gaff has said he was not frustrated and he has just had a brain fade, he is not a victim at all. He rightfully got his whack from the tribunal.
The game has 90% got rid of most violence in the sport, now just get rid of it all. 2 blokes going for the footy and the most talented bloke will win the ball.
 

passmark

Brownlow Medallist
Aug 26, 2012
21,023
44,562
AFL Club
Carlton
Nisbett (and Simpson) had no choice but to talk to the press, Had they refused they would have copped flack. Throughout the talk they both constantly said that both the club and Gaff had to own the situation and cop the penalty. Both emphasized that the process was underway and they would wait for that process to be completed. The media are pushing the line that both said they believed Gaff when he said it was not intentional. By that both meant the whack in the head was not intentional. They never denied the hit happened but were trying to explain that Gaff hadn't tried to "king hit" Brayshaw off the ball but had been trying to hit him across the chest to get away from the tag. Both said several times Gaff had got it horribly wrong. There is nothing wrong with a club trying to explain why a guy who had never done anything similar had done what occurred. The alternative would have been to say nothing and let everyone think the intention had been to "king hit" Brayshaw for no apparent reason. Any club would do the same. Of course that rabble calling themselves the media aren't interested in that and want to make more of it.

Having said that, Nisbett needs to ensure he uses better language when talking to those vultures and don't state things as facts unless he knows they are. It's pretty irrelevant but stating that they all played golf when it seems that hasn't been fully established just leaves him open to criticism. The situation with the cameraman on the NicNat injury was also poor as Simpson said one thing and was contradicted by Nisbett later. The club needs to look closely at it's media relations area (Gary Stocks)
He knew the relationship between the two was tenuous at best. Overplayed it like a shonk.

Really poor by a professional administrator but not unexpected from him.
 
May 5, 2006
62,726
70,017
AFL Club
West Coast
How ridiculous was the fine given to Francis? Surely we can't allow the MRO to be dishing out penalties with regards to any punches thrown? It's been a complete disaster this year!

I've only seen it once or twice but unless I'm mistaken O'Meara was fine and there was no high contact. Boggles the mind.

The AFL's stance on punches is that it's not acceptable. Except when it is. Punch someone to the body you'll probably get a fine. Jumper punch someone to the face you'll probably get a fine. Punch to the face you might get a week, you might not. Punch someone and knock them out, break their jaw etc. and it's the biggest scandal since whatever the most recent scandal was.
 

Socrates2

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 11, 2015
9,041
9,787
AFL Club
Richmond
Gaff wanted to win the Glenndening/ Allen medal so badly that he lost control and turned into a street animal.
 

BartBart

Norm Smith Medallist
Mar 30, 2008
5,774
5,482
Perth
AFL Club
West Coast
I've only seen it once or twice but unless I'm mistaken O'Meara was fine and there was no high contact. Boggles the mind.

The AFL's stance on punches is that it's not acceptable. Except when it is. Punch someone to the body you'll probably get a fine. Jumper punch someone to the face you'll probably get a fine. Punch to the face you might get a week, you might not. Punch someone and knock them out, break their jaw etc. and it's the biggest scandal since whatever the most recent scandal was.

It seems like the last few years that punches (inc to the head) have been treated a lot more lenient than bumps/tackles with head contact.
 

Anoncomment

All Australian
Feb 12, 2013
737
925
AFL Club
Fremantle
And if you tackled someone at work?
Essentially, what you're saying here is that a punch to the face is as much a part of footy as a tackle. You're saying that my job and the job of a footballer differ by the presence of such acts as tackling and punching people in the face.
 
May 5, 2006
62,726
70,017
AFL Club
West Coast
It seems like the last few years that punches (inc to the head) have been treated a lot more lenient than bumps/tackles with head contact.

That's because the system is outcomes driven and the AFL are terrified of concussion and spinal injuries.

The head is sacrosanct and if you elect to bump and make high contact which is high impact you will be punished...

...except for those times when you won't be, of course.
 
Sep 15, 2011
31,466
47,758
AFL Club
West Coast
Essentially, what you're saying here is that a punch to the face is as much a part of footy as a tackle. You're saying that my job and the job of a footballer differ by the presence of such acts as tackling and punching people in the face.
No, the point is to say that the workplace and football field are not in any way comparable, so pointing out that you would get fired for punching someone at work is wholly irrelevant. Punches certainly aren't a part of football and yet they happen in every game, sometimes with consequences and sometimes not. The AFL has a system in place for dealing with people that go too far, one the players accept. If the Players Association wants to make changes to that system to allowing 'firings' and police action, they absolutely can take it up with the AFL.
 
May 5, 2006
62,726
70,017
AFL Club
West Coast
The 'what if X happened in the street?' stuff is a bit much.

People don't want to admit it after an incident like what we've just seen but footy is a physical game and punches are unfortunately part of it. Left hooks and uppercuts very rarely, but most weeks you see jumper punches, 'love taps' etc. going on and it's tacitly accepted.

Throwing a punch in footy is unacceptable but it's not the same as doing it in a game of cricket or tennis. Even in soccer and basketball which are technically non-contact sports, throwing a punch isn't viewed the same as it is in footy/rugby/ice hockey.
 

upload_2018-8-8_14-33-0.jpeg
 
Sep 27, 2008
135,136
155,413
AFL Club
St Kilda
Other Teams
Chelsea, Black Caps, Subiaco
The 'what if X happened in the street?' stuff is a bit much.

People don't want to admit it after an incident like what we've just seen but footy is a physical game and punches are unfortunately part of it. Left hooks and uppercuts very rarely, but most weeks you see jumper punches, 'love taps' etc. going on and it's tacitly accepted.

Throwing a punch in footy is unacceptable but it's not the same as doing it in a game of cricket or tennis. Even in soccer and basketball which are technically non-contact sports, throwing a punch isn't viewed the same as it is in footy/rugby/ice hockey.

Yeah you don't get people niggling you in the street or in non contact sports like players do in football, especially taggers whose role is to put playmakers off their game by niggling, scragging, blocking etc which was Brayshaw's role on Gaff.

I'm not saying Brayshaw deserved to have his jaw broken but at the same time he wasn't innocently minding his own business and Gaff out of the blue ran over and whacked him like you see with some of those coward punch incidents in the street.

Gaff still deserved a lengthy suspension due to the outcome of his reckless actions but some of the outrage calling for 12 month bans, life bans, jail time etc are way over the top and are mostly from people that have never played contact sports and don't realise that tempers get frayed and s**t like this happens.
 
May 29, 2008
10,489
9,144
Australia
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
SS Lazio
What a zinger.

Richmond fans seem almost as invested as Freo fans, what is that about?

How lucky are Richmond?

No season ending injuries/suspensions.

Season ending injuries/suspensions to their two closest rivals (Naitanui/Gaff, Patton).

Imagine if Richmond lost (Nankervis and Edwards or Riewoldt or Caddy).
 
May 5, 2006
62,726
70,017
AFL Club
West Coast
Yeah you don't get people niggling you in the street or in non contact sports like players do in football, especially taggers whose role is to put playmakers off their game by niggling, scragging, blocking etc which was Brayshaw's role on Gaff.

I'm not saying Brayshaw deserved to have his jaw broken but at the same time he wasn't innocently minding his own business and Gaff out of the blue ran over and whacked him like you see with some of those coward punch incidents in the street.

Sometimes you do. Plenty of pub fights start over something as innocuous as a bump leading to a spilled drink. Raised voices, push and shove and before you know it someone is going full Richie Vandenberg. But the context is different and there isn't some pub umpire watching proceedings ready to penalise the respective parties. Of the niggling and scragging I've seen to just WC players over the years (happens to all teams, but you can only see so much on TV) Brayshaw on Gaff would've registered somewhere between 0 and 5 out of 10. Miles short of Liberatore on Cousins etc.

Gaff still deserved a lengthy suspension due to the outcome of his reckless actions but some of the outrage calling for 12 month bans, life bans, jail time etc are way over the top and are mostly from people that have never played contact sports and don't realise that tempers get frayed and s**t like this happens.

Symptomatic of 2018. The next Cameron, Bugg, Gaff, whoever will cop the same outrage. Or more. If Gaff got 8 weeks the lynch mob will be calling for the next guy to get 10 or 12. You'd think at some level Gaff got off easy in the public eye because he's a choirboy, hard to imagine there would be another level of outrage had some dirty player done it. The current WC side is pretty dull but Chris Masten would've been in the stocks by 3QT - and that's just from the WC fans. Some villain like Sicily, oh boy wowee.
 
Oct 3, 2012
12,763
24,364
AFL Club
Richmond
Essentially, what you're saying here is that a punch to the face is as much a part of footy as a tackle. You're saying that my job and the job of a footballer differ by the presence of such acts as tackling and punching people in the face.
Wtf dude. What I am saying that just because you cant do it at any random job, doesnt mean you cant do it in a footy game.
Who gives a s**t if you would get fired from punching someone at work. Thats so irrelevant in everyway.
Footy is a contact sport, some random office job is not.
 
Back