Umpires hit out over Maynard, Miller penalties; Bombers will speak to candidates this week
July 6, 2026 — 6:41pmYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.In today’s AFL Briefing, your footy news:Essendon will begin speaking to candidates for the senior coaching position over the next two weeks – and will start with informal chats.The umpires are unhappy with the fines for Brayden Maynard and Touk Miller.Former St Kilda star Nicky Winmar could be stripped of his Australian Football Hall of Fame status after he was found guilty of assaulting a woman.Umpires warned AFL about ‘deficient’ guidelinesPeter RyanThe AFL Umpires’ Association says it is disappointed that Brayden Maynard and Touk Miller escaped with fines for making contact with an umpire and that it warned the league before the start of the season that tribunal guidelines were inadequate for such situations.Collingwood defender Maynard and Gold Coast’s Miller made contact with umpire Nick Brown during Saturday’s fiery clash at People First Stadium, but the option of suspending the pair was not available to the match review officer.AdvertisementIn a statement provided to this masthead, umpires’ boss Rob Kerr said they were frustrated at the AFL’s lack of action on the matter, given they had been having discussions with the league about umpire contact for two years.“We have expressed our view that the current MRO guidelines are deficient because they provide no ability to suspend a player unless contact with the umpire is intentional,” Kerr said.“The increases of umpire contact over recent years has proven that fines are not an effective deterrent. Where contact with an umpire is forceful or avoidable there needs to be an ability to suspend players. This is important not only to protect AFL umpires but also to make it clear at community level that contact with an umpire is not acceptable.”Maynard and Miller were charged with misconduct to ensure their fine was $5000, but the ruling meant their clubs avoided a larger fine that the AFL is able to impose on teams who record more than four cases of umpire contact in a season.AdvertisementMost fines for umpire contact relate to players who inadvertently bump into an umpire at stoppages, when the whistle-blowers are backing out of congestion following a ball-up.However, Maynard and Miller made contact with umpire Brown when they rushed towards the Suns’ Ben Long, who was standing behind Brown. Maynard had been felled by Long seconds earlier in an incident for which the Sun was suspended for two matches.The match review officer found that neither Maynard nor Miller had intentionally made contact with the umpire but also determined the offence required a bigger penalty than the $1500 fine that would have been given if they were found guilty of careless contact with an umpire.Two competition sources said the AFL had consulted the umpire involved as part of its decision-making process and had discussed the potential outcome with umpires.AdvertisementFormer umpire Ray Chamberlain told the ABC on Saturday he suspected Maynard would “have a lot of trouble explaining” why it was acceptable for him to run 30 metres at a melee, aware of the umpire’s presence yet still making contact with him.However, the MRO said a fine was appropriate under a misconduct category after determining the incident did not constitute the direct tribunal offence of intentional contact with an umpire or the fixed financial offence of unreasonable or unnecessary contact with an umpire or “careless contact with an umpire”.Coach hunt begins: Bombers will speak to candidates this weekJake NiallEssendon will start reaching out to candidates for their coaching role this week, beginning the first phase of the club’s search for a longer-term successor to Brad Scott.AdvertisementThe Bombers confirmed on Monday that they would begin contacting prospective candidates for the senior coaching role, and begin with chats – rather than full-bore presentations – over the next two weeks.The Bombers said there had been no shortage of interest in the role from candidates working at AFL clubs, but they would not be drawn on any individual candidates due to a wish for confidentiality.The stated strong interest in the coaching role, occupied until season’s end by interim coach Dean Solomon, was in spite of the presence in the process of former coach and champion James Hird, who launched his bid for the position on Nine’s Footy Classified shortly after Scott’s removal, and his 2000 premiership teammate Solomon’s role as caretaker.Essendon are considered certain to interview some of the same candidates – assistant coaches in the system – that will be on Carlton’s list, currently about nine to 10 candidates, plus Hird. Solomon, who has stated a wish to play any role at Essendon and is contracted for 2027, has not yet declared whether he will put his hand up for the position he has on an interim basis.AdvertisementCarlton’s list of candidates includes Fremantle assistant Jaymie Graham, Geelong pair James Kelly and James Rahilly, St Kilda assistant Corey Enright, Hawthorn’s assistant Daniel Giansiracusa and Bulldogs assistant Brendon Lade.Giansiracusa will not pursue the Essendon position, having left the Bombers after 2025 to further his senior coaching ambitions as head of development at the Hawks.Brisbane Lions assistant Cam Bruce has ruled himself out of the Carlton job, due to a wish to remain in Brisbane for his daughter’s final school year. Collingwood’s Hayden Skipworth is another potential aspirant for the Essendon and Carlton roles.Carlton caretaker Josh Fraser has stuck to his position that he is not seeking the role for next year, despite seven consecutive wins since he took over from Michael Voss. Carlton are likely to speak to him about whether he is interested in the role later in the season.AdvertisementThe Blues intend to speak to ex-senior coaches John Longmire and Ken Hinkley at some stage, though the industry view is that they are more inclined to hire an assistant coach, as Collingwood did when now Carlton chief executive Graham Wright was head of football at the Magpies, choosing Craig McRae over Adam Kingsley in a process that broke new ground at Collingwood.The willingness of the highly experienced Longmire and Hinkley to pursue either position remains unclear, with Hinkley having said the Dons needed to decide on the Hird question – whether they want the former coach and club great – before he would consider any process.Hird has been out of AFL clubland since his exit from Essendon in 2015, aside from half a season as assistant coach at the Giants, supporting his friend and then interim coach Mark McVeigh. He has worked part-time at VFL club Port Melbourne.Hinkley, Longmire and Nathan Buckley are the leading candidates for the Tasmania Devils senior coaching job, for which Buckley has already been interviewed. The Devils are keen on a coach with senior experience.Winmar could be booted from hall of fameAdvertisementAAPFormer St Kilda star Nicky Winmar could be stripped of his Australian Football Hall of Fame status after he was found guilty of assaulting a woman.Winmar, 60, was inducted into the hall of fame in 2022 after a glittering 251-game AFL career with the Saints and Western Bulldogs.But the league has confirmed it is now reviewing Winmar’s status.The move comes after a statue of Winmar at Perth’s Optus Stadium was torn down under a directive from the West Australian government.AdvertisementIt follows Winmar’s conviction on three charges last Friday, after he was found guilty of attacking a woman at Cohuna in northern Victoria in May 2025.Bendigo Magistrate Trieu Huynh convicted Winmar of two charges of common law assault and one count of unlawful assault, finding the prosecution had proven those offences beyond reasonable doubt.The charges related to the allegations Winmar grabbed the woman by the arm, dragged her by the hair and hit her head against a door.Winmar was acquitted on the fourth charge of intentionally causing injury, with Huynh finding the woman’s “substantial pain” fell short of the sort of injury required for the charge.After Winmar’s conviction, West Australian Premier Roger Cook said he had directed VenuesWest to remove the statue of Winmar from Optus Stadium.AdvertisementAdvertisementHe would not be the first player stripped of his hall of fame status.In 2023, former North Melbourne, Perth and East Perth champion Barry Cable’s “Legend” status was revoked after a civil trial found he had sexually abused a young girl during his playing career.In April this year, Cable was acquitted of historical sexual abuse charges in a criminal trial.Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.You have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.More:AFL 2026Essendon BombersPeter Ryan is a sports reporter with The Age.Connect via X or email.Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.
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