COLLINGWOOD defender Brayden Maynard has described his collision with Melbourne midfielder Angus Brayshaw as "a footy act", with the Match Review set to meet on Friday to determine whether he will face any punishment for the incident.
Brayshaw was substituted out of Thursday night's qualifying final defeat to Collingwood, having sustained a severe head knock in a brutal and contentious incident with Maynard in the game's opening stages.
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Maynard looked to jump in an effort to smother Brayshaw's kick before bracing for contact in the moments afterwards, saying he was "shattered" by the result of the incident but stressing he didn't mean to cause contact.
"I don't want to say too much, but it's a footy act," Maynard told the Seven Network.
"I came forward, I jumped to smother the ball and unfortunately I just got him on the way down. So, I don't know. We'll have to wait and see what happens. But it's all love. I absolutely love that guy to bits. It's shattering what happened."
Brayshaw was motionless for some time after the incident, with the game suspended for nearly five minutes as medics assisted the Demons onballer from the field with the aid of a stretcher. He applauded the crowd as he made his way off the ground.
Melbourne players appeared aggrieved by the collision, with Jack Viney remonstrating with Maynard some time after the incident occurred when a replay was flashed on the scoreboards at the MCG.
The Demons were awarded a down-field free kick, which forward Bayley Fritsch converted for a goal, with Brayshaw instantly substituted out of the game and replaced by Bailey Laurie.
Speaking after Collingwood's seven-point victory, which put his side through to a preliminary final in a fortnight's time, coach Craig McRae said he was unsure as to whether Maynard would face punishment.
"I've caught it on a phone," McRae said.
"(I've seen) one view of it, one angle of it … it looks like he's in the air.
"I hope Angus is OK. I've met him a couple of times socially, he's a ripping guy. Hopefully, it's not too bad for him because he's had multiple concussions. My thoughts go out to him, I hope he's OK.
"The act itself, it didn't look like it had much malice. But I'll leave it up to others to decide if that's worthy of a suspension or not. I don't know."
McRae praised the way Maynard played out the match, despite receiving boos from the Melbourne faithful and a series of Demons players physically remonstrating with him in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
"We talk about this," McRae said.
"I'll take you into the changerooms for a bit, but we talk about every moment. This group has taught me a lot about managing seconds, not minutes. We're so good at managing seconds and making every one count.
"The ability to go, 'We're not going to get every one right … that wasn't my moment, I'm probably feeling for the kid, but I've got to get back to work.' You don't have time to sit on it.
"I talked a lot about winners last year, that’s what winners do. They move things quickly and stay in the moment, stay present, live in this space. We're bloody grateful to be here right now."
