Asked to quell Carlton duo Patrick Cripps and Charlie Curnow in round 23, Collingwood defender Brayden Maynard says he is ready for the challenge of taking on Geelong’s super forward Jeremy Cameron if handed that assignment in Saturday’s qualifying final.
All-Australian Maynard, whose versatility has helped him match up on dangerous smalls, key forwards and even star midfielders Cripps and Melbourne’s Christian Petracca on occasion, said he felt his game “stacked up against anyone” and he would be prepared if assigned to Cameron, whom the Cats have said will play Saturday, despite a hamstring injury in round 22 against Gold Coast.
Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard looms as a key figure in this finals series.Credit:Penny Stephens
“I’ve played on him before,” Maynard said of Cameron, who torched the Magpies with six goals in their round-three meeting, when the Cats overcame a 37-point deficit to win by 13 points.
“He’s obviously the best, or one of the best, forwards in the comp. He’s versatile, he’s agile. Yeah, he’s a very good player, he’s very hard to play on – he’s a tricky player to play on.
“But I feel like my footy stacks up against anyone, so I’d be ready to rise to the challenge if I got that.”
At 189 centimetres, Maynard would be conceding height to Cameron (196), but the 2022 All-Australian backman has been effective in matching Richmond’s Jack Riewoldt, and Eagle Jack Darling, and twice made crucial spoils against Curnow in the final term of an extraordinary round 23 virtual final.
“They did throw a bit at me (against Carlton), but I’m up for the challenge against anyone,” said Maynard. “I don’t fear anyone, I love big match-ups and I pretty much go out there and do what I can to stop, stop an opponent or win my one-on-ones.”
Geelong coach Chris Scott has declared that Cameron will play against Collingwood, in what would be a three-week absence – right on the standard minimum recovery period for a low-grade hamstring, although Cameron has had hamstring injuries earlier this season. “He’s going to play the first final,” Scott said on 3AW last week.
Maynard is not the obvious first defensive opponent for Cameron, given that Darcy Moore is the logical match-up for Geelong’s no less imposing Tom Hawkins, the 192-centimetre Nathan Murphy and Jeremy Howe (190) tend to play on taller opponents, and Gary Rohan shapes as the only other suitable match-up for Murphy and Howe.
But Cameron’s Curnow-like agility and speed for his size – and capacity to play upfield – raises the prospect that Maynard, as Collingwood’s most flexible mid-sized defender and with more speed/power than Murphy or Howe, could be deployed on the Geelong gun for stints.
Maynard, though, was coy about the prospect of manning Cameron, recalling how he told the media that he would be playing on Toby Greene in 2018, against the wishes of then coach Nathan Buckley.
Brayden Maynard soars to spoil Jeremy Cameron.Credit:AFL Photos
“I remember a couple of years ago when Bucks told me … it was the Toby Greene match-up during the week, the media were going nuts … I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut during the week to letting people know who I’m playing on.
“Our back line is very versatile. We have players such as Darc [Moore], Howey could take him, even Murph. Our smalls can match up on talls sometimes, we’ve got a very versatile back group that I love playing with.”
Maynard’s overtly physical style – demonstrated against Melbourne in round 21 in his brutal tackles on Alex Neal-Bullen and Ed Langdon – prompted his line coach Justin Leppitsch to liken him to North Melbourne great Glenn Archer. Leppitsch also dubbed Maynard “a wrecking ball”.
“Oh wow,” Maynard said, in response to the Archer comparison. “I used to love watching Glenn Archer play, he was an absolute psychopath on-field. I don’t know what he was like off-field.
“So to be compared to him, [I’m] very humble, grateful. I loved watching him go about it and, like I said, he was bloody nuts.
“I do play on the edge a bit, but it’s within the game, within the game and within the rules. “Obviously [I] got reported (and suspended) at the start of the year, which I think was incorrect, but it is what it is and that’s past us now, and I’m strictly focussed on finals.”
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