As gaffes go it was a big one.

Andrew Gaff the mild-mannered Eagles leftie produced a left hook, one that even a famed southpaw like Marvellous Marvin Hagler might have been proud of.

Unfortunately he chose the wrong place to surprise me or the over 58,000 others present. He landed his blow, one that will go down in the annals of West Coast and Fremantle folklore, on the Southern wing of Optus Stadium.

As a result 18 year old Andrew Brayshaw is today nursing a broken jaw.

WATCH THE BRUTAL HIT IN THE PLAYER ABOVE

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It seems Gaff, playing his 175th game, simply snapped!

In his time with the Eagles Gaff has been an admirable, gifted, fair player. He would have been almost the last player I would have picked to do what he did out there yesterday.

Now, nothing not even proof of extreme provocation can help him. Given Gaff’s earnest apology after the game that seems highly unlikely.

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But of course the victim here is Brayshaw, himself en route to a glittering career.

He probably spent the last few days watching tape of the man who hit him without seeing anything to suggest what happened could happen.

Now Gaff is likely to miss most, if not all, of the Eagles finals campaign and who knows, perhaps even the Brownlow Medal.

His reputation is forever stained and like toilet paper on a shoe yesterday will stay with him for as long as footy fans reminisce ... and can Google the vision that shows it!