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Why is the he there? Cooney calls out ump in Maynard-Long fight
SEN • July 5th, 2026 3:50 pm
There is far too much hysteria over Brayden Maynard making contact with the umpire during Collingwood’s victory over the Suns, according to Adam Cooney who says it’s a $1,500 fine and move on.
Amid calls for the Pies vice-captain to be sidelined for up to a month, Cooney questioned why umpire Nick Brown injected himself into the fight that erupted on the half-time siren.
Tempers flared shortly before the break after Ben Long dropped a shoulder into Maynard’s side – a clash the Pies star claims left him with broken ribs.
The hit sparked numerous players into a melee which developed into an all-in fight after the siren.
Vision of the confrontation shows Maynard running straight for Long and pushing Brown out of harms way to get to the Suns player.
With opinions divided, Cooney was adamant Maynard should not face a ban similar to the six match suspension dished out to Toby Greene in 2021 for a far more serious umpire contact.
“It’ll be over $100k in fines by the end of it,” Cooney said on SEN's Crunch Time. “There was nothing too serious but it’s the cheap shot from Long that boiled things over.
“Long came in behind Maynard and I think he will be in some strife for that. Maynard thinks he’s got a broken rib and so if that’s the case, it’s two weeks ban minimum.
“With the Maynard umpire contact, it is different. First of all, why is the umpire getting that close? Get out of the way. He is trying to break up the fight.
“Use your voice and say ‘save your money’. Get out of the way of players in the heat of battle.
“If that’s happening, get out of the action. Maynard has no intent to touch the umpire. He wants Long.
“Someone pushed Maynard and he brushed the umpire. Some people are saying four weeks for this; it’s careless and someone pushed him, the umpire should not be there.
“Give Maynard a $1500 fine and move on. There's hysteria about this one. I know we want to protect umpires, but this is so different to the Toby Greene one.
“This is Maynard having tunnel vision for a player. In my opinion, he (umpire) shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
“Imagine missing a month of footy for brushing passed an umpire.”
Gold Coast vice-captain Touk Miller will also no doubt be under scrutiny as he also made contact with Brown.
“It could be the dumbest thing we’ve seen for the year,” North Melbourne great and SEN Fireball host David King said on Fox.
“The umpires are a no-go zone. This is irresponsible, and it’s a month for me.”
When asked for his thoughts on the fight and subsequent umpire contact, Collingwood coach Craig McRae said: "I'm not aware of how long it went for, but I don't know what the AFL do with that. I'm sure they'll be looking at it all.
"I wasn't happy with the guy getting hit off the ball, I'm not sure that's something we'd love every week."
