Collingwood star Brayden Maynard is caught on video in a heartwarming act with two young fans just hours before preliminary final win over GWS
Collingwood #Collingwood
While many footy fans have branded Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard a villain on the field, he has been hailed as a ‘good samaritan’ off it following two acts of kindness – including one just hours before his team’s preliminary final.
Maynard was public enemy No.1 following the Magpies’ win over the Melbourne Demons after a smothering attempt went wrong, leaving Angus Brayshaw concussed and wiped out of the game.
Maynard was cleared by the AFL tribunal for the incident and even visited Brayshaw with a flower and a bottle of wine to apologise, but has still earned the ire of plenty of footy fans for his tenacious style of play.
However, two recent incidents might go a long way toward changing the public perception of the Collingwood hardman.
A caller told radio station 3AW Melbourne that Maynard had been spotted at Cluden Cricket Club just hours before the club’s critical preliminary final against GWS last Friday.
Maynard, left, took his dog for a walk when it stated chasing the footy being kicked by two local lads – so the Collingwood star decided to join in the fun with them
Maynard has copped plenty of criticism in recent weeks but he’s also shown he’s capable of selfless acts of kindness
The field is a popular hangout for kids and dog owners alike and Maynard had been walking his pet when his path crossed with two young fans.
‘I’ve gone down to a local park and there was blokes and badly behaved dogs everywhere,’ the caller said.
‘There were these twins, they were having a kick of the footy, about 9am or 10am or so.
‘The ball was being chased by a dog and the owner of the dog, a young bloke, comes up to them and says, “Can I have a kick of the footy with you while the dog runs around?”
‘This old duck comes up to me and says to me, “Do you know who that young man was kicking the footy around with the kids?”
‘I had no idea, she said, “He’s got a pretty big game in about three hours”.’
It comes after another caller reached out to 3AW two weeks ago to share a story of Maynard helping a stranded motorist.
Spotting the woman who had run out of petrol, Maynard went to the nearest petrol station, bought a large jerry can and filled it with 20 litres of fuel before returning it to the woman and refusing payment.
It had 3AW announcers Ross Stevenson and Russel Howcroft hailing Maynard as a good samaritan.
An emotional Maynard with teammate Darcy Moore after their thrilling one-point win over GWS to secure their place in the AFL grand final
Another AFL fan spotted Jack Crisp just before the grand final carrying out the mundane every day task of doing the shopping
Maynard was left shaking with excitement after the Pies held on to win by a single point over GWS to earn their passage into the grand final.
‘Far out. I’m shaking. I’m actually shaking. I’m getting a little bit emotional because I just love this,’ he said.
‘This is what we play for. One point. Preliminaries.
‘All credit to GWS, much respect. They are going to be a hell of a team in the future. Far out, how good is this? Seriously. How good!’
When asked about his build-up to the game, which included the tribunal hearing as well as the visit to Brayshaw’s house, Maynard made a telling admission.
‘Not going to lie. I spoke about it during the week. It did rattle me, it rattled me a lot,’ he said.
‘I had great people around me, the whole club, my family. I want to say thank you to the Collingwood family, and supporters for getting around me.
‘That week was bloody tough. All the crap, I can’t believe it right now. It is so bloody good.’
Share or comment on this article: Collingwood star Brayden Maynard is caught on video in a heartwarming act with two young fans just hours before preliminary final win over GWS