Collingwood could be hit with a huge fine by the AFL even if Brayden Maynard dodges a suspension for making contact with an umpire during the fiery clash with Gold Coast.

Maynard and Suns midfielder Touk Miller both face scrutiny from the AFL match review officer (MRO) for umpire contact, with the findings to be handed down on Sunday.

Suns forward Ben Long is also in the gun for a whack to Maynard's ribs, having floored the Magpies veteran just before halftime of Saturday's spiteful encounter.

The hit - which sparked a wild melee - could result in a suspension for Long.

But the biggest talking point was what happened immediately after the half-time siren, when Maynard sprinted across to Long in a bid to continue their spat.

Umpire Nick Brown could see the trouble coming and was standing in front of Long.

As Maynard rushed in, he placed two hands in Brown's back to nudge the umpire out of the way so he could get to Long.

Replays showed Miller, who was trailing Maynard, also made contact with the umpire.

Whether Maynard will argue he put his hands on Brown so as to not clatter into the umpire remains to be seen, but the AFL has made a point to crack down on any physical contact with umpires.

Accidental contact attracts fines, but intentional contact generally leads to lengthy suspensions.

GWS captain Toby Greene copped a six-match ban in 2021 when he bumped past an umpire who was trying to talk to him.

Although Maynard's incident wasn't as serious, there are already calls for him to be banned for four weeks.

Retired North Melbourne premiership star David King labelled it as the "dumbest" football act of the year.

Even if Maynard is not suspended, he is likely to become the fifth Collingwood player charged with umpire contact this season.

Reaching that limit can result in a club being fined up to $50,000.

Gold Coast were the first club fined under an AFL crackdown on umpire contact, penalised $20,000 last month.

If Miller is cited for umpire contact on Sunday, the Suns could be fined again.

Collingwood coach Craig McRae said he didn't see the Maynard umpire contact incident, but was filthy with the Long hit that kicked things off.

"I wasn't happy with a guy getting hit off the ball. I'm not sure that's something we'd love every week," McRae said.

Star Magpie midfielder Nick Daicos described Maynard as the team's spiritual leader, and said the group was more than willing to fly the flag for their inspirational defender.

Maynard was influential in the thrilling victory, pulling off a series of clutch tackles and desperate acts to help seal Collingwood's 15.14 (104) to 15.8 (98) win.

"This guy popped his shoulder out three weeks ago, and for most that's season-ending. This guy's worked hard and got it right," McRae said.

"We love what he does and what he brings to the table.

"He inspires us in so many different ways. I'm certain we'll show a couple of those examples from late in the game (when he) saved goals or saved score involvements.

"He was really pivotal."

Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick didn't want to comment on Long's hit, but praised the way his players coped with the intense physicality following the half-time drama.

"We played hard, we played tough, won contested ball, put our head over the ball," Hardwick said.

"I thought we coped with it really well."