Brayden Maynard became the latest Hampton Rovers player to make his AFL debut when he made his first appearance for Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night.
Maynard played 53 games for the Rovers and was part of the U17 division 1 premiership in 2013 before an outstanding year at the Sandringham Dragons where he won the best & fairest for the TAC Cup club. He was selected by Collingwood at pick 30 in the 2014 AFL Draft.
Collingwood went down to Hawthorn by 10 points in an entertaining game in front of over 75,000 fans at the MCG and Maynard collected 11 disposals including 7 kicks and laid 6 tackles. He is the youngest player on the Pies 45-man list.
Your moment’s arrived, @brayden_maynard. Welcome Magpie No.1123. Just wait til you see his left foot #sidebyside pic.twitter.com/5MCq0gkK4y
— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) July 3, 2015
Maynard is the third Rovers player to make his AFL debut in 2015 with Angus Brayshaw (Melbourne) and Karl Amon (Port Adelaide) making their debuts earlier this year. He is one of eight Hampton Rovers players currently on AFL lists. View Hampton Rovers AFL players >
It was an emotional night at the MCG Friday evening as it was across all games on the weekend following the tragic death of Adelaide coach Phil Walsh. Both teams paid tribute by eschewing club banners and songs when they ran on to the ground and observing a minute’s silence before the opening bounce and, in a touching moment, both teams formed a circle of honour in the middle of the ground following the game.
VIDEO: Relive a moment of unity in the middle of the @MCG – http://t.co/NIhxaXnYl6 #weflyasone pic.twitter.com/3Mt1kvNMjE
— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) July 3, 2015
