Gaff was handed an eight-match ban for breaking the jaw of Fremantle youngster Brayshaw in a fiery western derby.

Brayshaw is unable to eat solid food for the next few weeks, and will require further dental work to address issues with his mangled teeth.

The 18-year-old is staying with his parents in Melbourne during the early stages of his recovery.

Brayshaw's mum Debra was in tears during the western derby after seeing the horrific damage Gaff's punch caused to her son.

So in a touching gesture, Gaff brought along a bunch of flowers as a gift to Debra when he visited her son at the Brayshaw household last week.

"Mum was at work, so it was just him and Andrew Brayshaw sitting there," Melbourne Demons star Angus Brayshaw said of the meeting.

"They had a chat for 30 minutes, and (Gaff) apologised.

"I can only imagine what it would be like to be punched in the face, what mentally that would do to you.

"So for (Brayshaw) to accept that apology, I think it's a really good step forward. Probably it closes the whole ordeal. It's been forgiven."

Meanwhile, Angus Brayshaw is confident the Demons can overcome the loss of star forward Jesse Hogan to qualify for the finals.

Hogan is out for the rest of the season after suffering a partial stress fracture to the navicular bone.

The Demons (12-8) sit in seventh spot, but they could miss the finals if they lose to West Coast (away) and GWS (home) in the next two weeks.

"As crazy as this might sound, we love this position we're in where people are counting us out," Brayshaw told the AFL Exchange podcast.

"Our backs are against the wall, people are counting us out, but we feel like we've put ourselves in a position to play finals and we're really excited by that."

Australian Associated Press