{"id":618494,"date":"2026-04-20T04:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/618494\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T04:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:56:09","slug":"latest-news-on-elijah-hollands-mental-health-episode-erratic-behaviour-what-happened-brayden-maynard-afl-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/618494\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest news on Elijah Hollands mental health episode, erratic behaviour, what happened, Brayden Maynard, AFL investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Collingwood vice-captain Brayden Maynard says he was aware teammates were discussing Elijah Hollands\u2019 concerning behaviour on Thursday night, with the AFL Players\u2019 Association \u201cintimately\u201d involved in Carlton\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The AFL is \u201cdesperate\u201d for answers from Carlton \u201cin the next couple of days,\u201d over the Hollands situation, reports AFL journalist Tom Morris, in the fallout from his mental health episode in Thursday night\u2019s game at the MCG. <\/p>\n<p>Carlton chief executive Graham Wright on Sunday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/afl\/afl-2026-collingwood-players-claim-over-elijah-holland-behaviour-during-carlton-clash-afl-puts-blues-on-notice-over-investigation-latest-updates\/news-story\/dfd0d17f4e120645627e2f377209fbf3\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">conceded the club was aware Hollands was \u201cstruggling in the game\u201d<\/a> \u2014 a game he recorded just one disposal and spent the majority of the fourth quarter on the bench \u2014 as the Blues continue to seek clarity on exactly what happened.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au\/en-AU\/welcome\/afl?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkafl-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-afl-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Could Daicos be the next Ablett Jr? | 03:59<\/p>\n<p>SEE ALSO <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/afl\/teams\/carlton-blues\/afl-news-2026-latest-elijah-hollands-updates-why-carlton-blues-must-brace-for-big-fine-as-coaches-big-ingame-fail-called-out\/news-story\/3fd4a5799a8009387dbe38bb99f0e9f7\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">\u2018Get better\u2019: Huge penalty Blues could face over Hollands as AFL urged to draw \u2018line in the sand\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/afl\/afl-2026-round-6-talking-points-analysis-and-reaction-carltons-handling-of-elijah-hollands-incident-bulldogs-flag-chances-after-sam-darcy-injury-friday-night-doubleheader-explained\/news-story\/56d8ed55a72c928b1d05792fc57c938d\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">\u2018Genuine trouble\u2019: Post-game sight exposes biggest Blues question; moment that shook flag race<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Maynard on Monday said he \u201coverheard a few things\u201d on the ground and definitely would\u2019ve acted had he noticed himself something was off. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t aware of what was going on, but I think there was a bit of chatter happening and I didn\u2019t pay much attention to it at all and if I did, I definitely would have said something,\u201d Maynard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/sport\/afl\/there-was-a-bit-of-chatter-pie-aware-of-hollands-talk-on-field-20260420-p5zpbl.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">told The Age<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI overheard a few things, but as I said, I was too focused on the game to really understand what was actually going on. He was definitely around the area and people were chatting about it, but I was focused on playing the game.<\/p>\n<p>Maynard added that he would\u2019ve felt compelled to assist if it were one of his teammates. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo be honest if I saw one of my teammates acting in such a way that Elijah was, then I would definitely say something and mention it to the hierarchy,\u201d the Collingwood defender added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut like I said, that is for Carlton to deal with their player, and everyone is doing the best they can to look after him and that is the issue here \u2013 to make sure he gets support around him to make sure his mental health is looked after.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Collingwood skipper and AFLPA president Darcy Moore, who missed the game due to injury, said the association had been actively involved in the review into the matter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClearly, a process is playing out with Carlton and the AFL at the moment. As a players\u2019 association we have been involved in the process intimately over the last few days which is really encouraging, and a great sign,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe major concern is clearly just Elijah\u2019s welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Longmuir jabs back at Eagles banner | 00:28<\/p>\n<p>It comes as Morris reported on Monday morning that the league wants to get to the bottom of the matter this week. <\/p>\n<p>That includes the AFL continuing to seek answers as to whether Hollands may have been under the influence of an illegal substance. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we don\u2019t know for sure is if there was something else around the edges and that is what the AFL is trying to ascertain,\u201d Morris said on SEN radio. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf WADA tested Hollands for illicit drugs post-game and he tested positive, we will know about it, just like we knew about Joel Smith. Just like we\u2019d know about any player who tests positive on game day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut if they tested him and he was negative or they didn\u2019t test him, the AFL is relying on other evidence to put paint a picture as to what was around Hollands\u2019 mental health episode.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe AFL is desperate for answers sooner rather than later. I\u2019m talking in the next couple of days, they don\u2019t want this to drag into next week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Morris added that the AFL is primarily trying to find out why the Blues played Hollands, why he was kept on the ground, whether he was monitored in the weeks and days leading up the game adequately and if there was a change to his medical management that was disregarded.<\/p>\n<p>While the possibility of a sanction is still to be determined, Morris expects \u201csweeping changes\u201d to the processes around player welfare to ensure clubs are better equipped to deal with a situation like this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Collingwood vice-captain Brayden Maynard says he was aware teammates were discussing Elijah Hollands\u2019 concerning behaviour on Thursday night,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[63,689,55,299931,684,37346,3239,10133,10989,1818,299929,20924,2105,25532,43,299930,33693,50087,10400,647,514,299620,44,677,123400,668,1144,41,39,42,40,660],"class_list":{"0":"post-618494","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","10":"tag-australian-football-league","11":"tag-aware-teammates","12":"tag-ben-cotton","13":"tag-brayden-maynard","14":"tag-carlton-blues","15":"tag-collingwood-magpies","16":"tag-darcy-moore","17":"tag-david-king","18":"tag-erratic-behaviour","19":"tag-game-day","20":"tag-getty-images-inc","21":"tag-graham-wright","22":"tag-headlines","23":"tag-immediate-answers","24":"tag-james-wiltshire","25":"tag-joel-smith","26":"tag-justin-longmuir","27":"tag-melbourne","28":"tag-mental-health","29":"tag-mental-health-episode","30":"tag-news","31":"tag-oceania","32":"tag-player-welfare","33":"tag-press-conference","34":"tag-tom-morris","35":"tag-top-news","36":"tag-top-stories","37":"tag-topnews","38":"tag-topstories","39":"tag-victoria"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}