East Perth footballer Hamish Brayshaw has explained the current state of events relating to his concussed brother, Angus, including a phone call Collingwood's Brayden Maynard made to their mother, Deb, following the incident.
Angus Brayshaw was concussed by Maynard during the first quarter of last Thursday's qualifying final clash, needing to be removed from the MCG via stretcher. Maynard was sent directly to the AFL Tribunal to decide his suspension fate.
Due to the AFL's concussion protocols, the incident meant Brayshaw was automatically ruled out of Melbourne's semi-final bout. Considering the Demon's documented history of concussion, there is a likely chance he misses more than just one match.
Hamish Brayshaw, who on Monday evening claimed the 2023 Sandover Medal as the WAFL's best and fairest, featured on the Shelter FootyCast after his brother's concussion, claiming the AFL was "desperate for Collingwood to win a premiership", suggesting the league would favour leniency towards Maynard.
He has since spoken publically via SEN, declaring he "jumped the gun" after his "passionate" podcast appearance.
Brayshaw, speaking on Tuesday morning, detailed his family's initial reaction to his brother's injury before explaining where their current frustrations and focus lie.
"The way the family has reacted, it's interesting because initially I think there was a bit of anger and frustration towards the whole thing and whether Brayden Maynard meant it or not is irrelevant, but what the main focus for us now is whether or not Angus is okay, and his health is our priority," Brayshaw said viaย SEN WAย on Tuesday.
"While initially, as I'm sure everybody can imagine when your son or your brother has been knocked out five minutes into a final and the emotions are pretty high and given his history and given everything that's going on around concussion at the moment, it was pretty quick to step into 'who cares what happened and let's just hope he's okay'.
"My initial reaction when watching it was that, 'he's never going to play football again', and obviously that has since subsided, and I've spoken to him, and his symptoms are dying off and he's okay.
"I probably jumped the gun a little bit early on that one but that's the nature of his head injuries and his past with concussion and it's been a really hard one for me and the family to deal with.
"While I was pretty passionate on the podcast yesterday speaking about the whole thing, it doesn't bother me with Brayden Maynard and that whole situation. That can do what it does.
"For me, it's just about my brother and how he is and what his footy career and the rest of his life will look like. So, that's my priority."
Brayshaw also clarified the intrigue surrounding an apparent phone call that was made by Maynard to Brayshaw's mother.
"Mum was in a little bit of a shock, and she picked up the phone and said, 'I'm sorry mate, I can't speak to you', because she was off doing something at the time," Brayshaw said.
"However long it will take Mum she will reflect on that and probably be thankful for the call but whether or not she appreciated it at the time is her prerogative, but it was something that was good on him for reaching out and going over.
"He obviously meant it with sincerity that he was apologising and I'm thankful for him for reaching out."
The Demons, without the dependable Brayshaw in defence, as well as the suspended Jacob van Rooyen, face the Blues on Friday night at 7:50 PM (AEST).
