Collingwood's Brayden Maynard and Gold Coast's Touk Miller have avoided suspension but been slugged with $5000 fines each after both made contact with an umpire during a wild half-time melee in Saturday night's AFL clash at People First Stadium. Meanwhile, Gold Coast's Ben Long has been handed a two-match ban for the swinging arm hit on Maynard that ignited the ugly scenes in the first place, with the AFL's match review officer handing down a raft of penalties on Sunday that will total more than $30,000 from that match alone if all are accepted.
What the MRO Found on Maynard and Miller's Umpire Contact
The incident centred on the moment the half-time siren sounded, with Maynard — still seething from Long's hit — sprinting across the ground to resume hostilities with the Gold Coast forward. Umpire Nicholas Brown, anticipating trouble, had positioned himself directly in front of Long. As Maynard charged in, he placed two hands into Brown's back to physically move the umpire out of his path. Miller, who had been trying to restrain Maynard, also made contact with Brown in the scramble.
The AFL's match review officer reviewed the incident and determined that neither player's actions met the criteria for charges of "intentional", "unreasonable or unnecessary", or "careless" contact with an umpire. Instead, both were charged with the lesser offence of misconduct, with the MRO exercising absolute discretion in setting the $5000 penalty for each.
Notably, unlike most other fines handed down from Saturday's round, neither Maynard nor Miller can have their fine reduced through an early guilty plea . Both players do, however, retain the right to challenge the charge at the tribunal if they choose to contest it.
The severity of umpire-contact offences has been highlighted by past precedent — GWS captain Toby Greene was banned for six matches in 2021 after being found guilty of intentionally making contact with an umpire — making Sunday's outcome a considerably more lenient result for both Maynard and Miller.
Long's Two-Game Ban and the Incident That Started It All
The chain of events began in the second quarter, when Maynard was involved in a confrontation with Gold Coast's Bailey Humphrey following a Suns goal. Long arrived from the side and struck Maynard in the ribs with a swinging arm — a contact the MRO rated as both intentional and to a high area of the body, resulting in a two-match suspension .
The hit left Maynard crumpled on the turf, and the scenes that followed were among the most chaotic of the season. An all-in brawl erupted, with players losing shoes and Collingwood defender Billy Frampton's jumper torn in the melee. When Maynard eventually recovered and got to his feet in time for the next centre bounce, he immediately confronted Long — and when the half-time siren sounded moments later, he made a beeline back across the ground, leading to the contact with umpire Brown.
Gold Coast has until Monday to decide whether to challenge Long's suspension at the tribunal. Long was offered no reduction through an early plea for the suspension.
Maynard, who finished the match with visible scratches on his neck and arms, was unrepentant about his response to Long's hit. "If you're going to come hit me cheaply, you're going to get something back," he said after the match. In a notable postscript, the pair were seen sharing an embrace and a conversation after the final siren, suggesting tensions had cooled by the game's end.
More Than 20 Offences, $60,000-Plus in Fines Across Saturday's Games
The Gold Coast-Collingwood clash alone produced more than 20 offences. In total, 11 Gold Coast players and four Magpies were penalised for their involvement in the second-quarter melee, with most receiving fines of $1500 for either instigating or engaging in the brawl. Those fines can be reduced to $1000 with an early guilty plea.
Maynard was the most heavily penalised individual from the match, facing three separate fines totalling $8000 — a figure that includes his $5000 misconduct charge alongside additional penalties.
Across all four Saturday matches, the MRO imposed fines totalling more than $60,000. Five melee-related fines were handed to players in Carlton's win over Richmond, while four were issued from the GWS-Fremantle contest. The Giants also had Harry Himmelberg fined for striking Fremantle's Nathan O'Driscoll, and Stephen Coniglio was fined for attempting to trip Hayden Young. The Hawthorn-Melbourne match in Launceston produced one fine, with Hawk Jai Newcombe among those penalised.
Questions Linger Over Carlton v Richmond Timeline
The Carlton win over Richmond on Saturday also drew scrutiny beyond the five melee fines, with questions remaining over missing time from that match. The details of exactly what occurred during those periods have yet to be fully accounted for publicly, adding another layer of intrigue to a weekend that kept AFL administrators busy well into Sunday.
With several clubs yet to decide whether to challenge various penalties, the full picture of the weekend's disciplinary fallout may not be settled until early next week.
