
Demons star to learn rough conduct fate in AFL appeal
The case, which Demons coach Simon Goodwin predicts will shape the way players approach contests in future, will be heard on Monday evening.
May was initially handed a three-match ban by the Tribunal for rough conduct over the collision that left Blues forward Evans with concussion, a broken nose and a missing tooth.
But the All Australian defender maintained the ball was always his focus.
"We think he had a play on the ball and it was a football incident," Goodwin said after the Demons confirmed they would appeal the Tribunal's decision.
"From my perspective, that's ultimately the argument that we'll go with.
"Clearly there's some legal stuff that they'll go through in terms of the case as part of the appeal.
"But you can see it's divided a lot of the public and I think it's one of those cases where everyone wants it to go through the appeals (process) and see what the outcome is going to be."
Goodwin said May was "devastated and shattered" by the Tribunal's decision.
"Right from the outset when he first came to the bench, he was a little bit confused and thought he'd done the right thing and gone at the footy," Goodwin said.
"He was shattered, he was disappointed with the outcome and clearly frustrated.
"This is part of the process, go through the appeals, get the clarity required and we'll all move forward post that."
Goodwin predicted players would adapt with the more information they get from the AFL about how they are required to act in certain scenarios.
The 2021 premiership coach referenced the aerial contest between Fremantle captain Alex Pearce and Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones, which caused similar controversy to the May-Evans collision.
Pearce was handed a three-match ban before overturning it on appeal.
"This is part of the game," Goodwin said.
"We're learning more and more about the game and what's required in the game, and what the players need to do in the game, especially around concussion.
"But if you look at the Alex Pearce case, these cases go all the way through to the appeals and you get more information."
May is recovering from his own concussion, having missed Sunday's horror fade-out against St Kilda after an accidental knee to the head from Carlton's Tom De Koning.
Melbourne will reiterate their belief that Steven May had a legitimate play at the ball in his high-speed clash with Carlton's Francis Evans when the star defender fronts the AFL Appeals Board.
The case, which Demons coach Simon Goodwin predicts will shape the way players approach contests in future, will be heard on Monday evening.
May was initially handed a three-match ban by the Tribunal for rough conduct over the collision that left Blues forward Evans with concussion, a broken nose and a missing tooth.
But the All Australian defender maintained the ball was always his focus.
"We think he had a play on the ball and it was a football incident," Goodwin said after the Demons confirmed they would appeal the Tribunal's decision.
"From my perspective, that's ultimately the argument that we'll go with.
"Clearly there's some legal stuff that they'll go through in terms of the case as part of the appeal.
"But you can see it's divided a lot of the public and I think it's one of those cases where everyone wants it to go through the appeals (process) and see what the outcome is going to be."
Goodwin said May was "devastated and shattered" by the Tribunal's decision.
"Right from the outset when he first came to the bench, he was a little bit confused and thought he'd done the right thing and gone at the footy," Goodwin said.
"He was shattered, he was disappointed with the outcome and clearly frustrated.
"This is part of the process, go through the appeals, get the clarity required and we'll all move forward post that."
Goodwin predicted players would adapt with the more information they get from the AFL about how they are required to act in certain scenarios.
The 2021 premiership coach referenced the aerial contest between Fremantle captain Alex Pearce and Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones, which caused similar controversy to the May-Evans collision.
Pearce was handed a three-match ban before overturning it on appeal.
"This is part of the game," Goodwin said.
"We're learning more and more about the game and what's required in the game, and what the players need to do in the game, especially around concussion.
"But if you look at the Alex Pearce case, these cases go all the way through to the appeals and you get more information."
May is recovering from his own concussion, having missed Sunday's horror fade-out against St Kilda after an accidental knee to the head from Carlton's Tom De Koning.
Melbourne will reiterate their belief that Steven May had a legitimate play at the ball in his high-speed clash with Carlton's Francis Evans when the star defender fronts the AFL Appeals Board.
The case, which Demons coach Simon Goodwin predicts will shape the way players approach contests in future, will be heard on Monday evening.
May was initially handed a three-match ban by the Tribunal for rough conduct over the collision that left Blues forward Evans with concussion, a broken nose and a missing tooth.
But the All Australian defender maintained the ball was always his focus.
"We think he had a play on the ball and it was a football incident," Goodwin said after the Demons confirmed they would appeal the Tribunal's decision.
"From my perspective, that's ultimately the argument that we'll go with.
"Clearly there's some legal stuff that they'll go through in terms of the case as part of the appeal.
"But you can see it's divided a lot of the public and I think it's one of those cases where everyone wants it to go through the appeals (process) and see what the outcome is going to be."
Goodwin said May was "devastated and shattered" by the Tribunal's decision.
"Right from the outset when he first came to the bench, he was a little bit confused and thought he'd done the right thing and gone at the footy," Goodwin said.
"He was shattered, he was disappointed with the outcome and clearly frustrated.
"This is part of the process, go through the appeals, get the clarity required and we'll all move forward post that."
Goodwin predicted players would adapt with the more information they get from the AFL about how they are required to act in certain scenarios.
The 2021 premiership coach referenced the aerial contest between Fremantle captain Alex Pearce and Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones, which caused similar controversy to the May-Evans collision.
Pearce was handed a three-match ban before overturning it on appeal.
"This is part of the game," Goodwin said.
"We're learning more and more about the game and what's required in the game, and what the players need to do in the game, especially around concussion.
"But if you look at the Alex Pearce case, these cases go all the way through to the appeals and you get more information."
May is recovering from his own concussion, having missed Sunday's horror fade-out against St Kilda after an accidental knee to the head from Carlton's Tom De Koning.

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The fractured football club behind Melbourne's eight seconds of madness
My colleague Michael Gleeson reported this week that the prospect of a million-dollar payout to premiership coach Goodwin would not faze the Melbourne board which has – in effect – been running the club all year in the absence of a permanent chief executive. Off-field morale at Melbourne has been low as a result. Not only did acting CEO David Chippindall move deep into the process to replace Pert with few ever believing he would be appointed, but Chippindall has been left to run the club all season as interim CEO. As the season has continued staff have become increasingly dismayed at the lengthy handover period. Incredibly, with Pert departing last November, his replacement Paul Guerra – also overseas in New York in recent weeks – will not take over until September despite being appointed in April. Not only has this delayed crucial developments in the club's push to finally secure a new home base at Caulfield, but it highlighted the leadership vacuum at the top as the team's performance dived. The reality that Guerra has said he could not extricate himself from the top job at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce has been difficult to swallow. Guerra was contacted for comment. And the interim role has been tough for Chippindall to wear, given he was overlooked not for a candidate with strong football credentials but by one with no club experience. Respected former Port Adelaide boss Keith Thomas was also in the running and had some backing from the AFL. But he was removed from the process after the discovery of an anti-war social media post relating to conflict in Gaza. Loading This was at a time when the club was negotiating with Jewish stakeholders in the bid to secure its new home at Caulfield. One of the options for a Demons base is a parcel of land between Caulfield Racecourse and a planned campus for Jewish school Mt Scopus. Despite denials at the time, the board did not rule out the prospect of approaching the then-uncontracted Luke Beveridge by season's end in the early months of a year that has lurched from bad to worse. This would indicate the Smith-Brad Green led operation remains open to change. But the pressing problem for Melbourne remains the lack of leadership and by consequence the opportunity to correctly review the running of a football operation. Monday's scheduled board meeting saw incoming president Smith zoom in as his long-planned European sojourn nears an end. 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An even stranger double-up was the move to use player development manager Reece Conca as a runner on match days, a clear conflict given he was delivering instructions to players at the same time as he was also responsible for their welfare. The club has struggled with behavioural and cultural problems, including allegations of substance abuse among players. The responsibility of minding Clayton Oliver over his troubled summer of 2023-'24 was handed to the club's popular media boss, Matt Goodrope. Goodrope remains a respected figure at the club from the board down, but surely he was not adequately qualified for the daily role with Oliver at a time the player's life seemed in crisis and he was undergoing direct and regular intervention from the AFL's mental health team, league chiefs, AFLPA bosses and Pert. 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The fractured football club behind Melbourne's eight seconds of madness
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Not only has this delayed crucial developments in the club's push to finally secure a new home base at Caulfield, but it highlighted the leadership vacuum at the top as the team's performance dived. The reality that Guerra has said he could not extricate himself from the top job at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce has been difficult to swallow. Guerra was contacted for comment. And the interim role has been tough for Chippindall to wear, given he was overlooked not for a candidate with strong football credentials but by one with no club experience. Respected former Port Adelaide boss Keith Thomas was also in the running and had some backing from the AFL. But he was removed from the process after the discovery of an anti-war social media post relating to conflict in Gaza. Loading This was at a time when the club was negotiating with Jewish stakeholders in the bid to secure its new home at Caulfield. One of the options for a Demons base is a parcel of land between Caulfield Racecourse and a planned campus for Jewish school Mt Scopus. Despite denials at the time, the board did not rule out the prospect of approaching the then-uncontracted Luke Beveridge by season's end in the early months of a year that has lurched from bad to worse. This would indicate the Smith-Brad Green led operation remains open to change. But the pressing problem for Melbourne remains the lack of leadership and by consequence the opportunity to correctly review the running of a football operation. Monday's scheduled board meeting saw incoming president Smith zoom in as his long-planned European sojourn nears an end. Green has bristled this season at suggestions he is the interim president but given the pressure placed upon Smith, the former MCC president and Demons 200-gamer, to step into the role despite his travel plans, the strong impression all season is that the club had been treading water on and off the field. Darren Shand, the former All Blacks manager and motivational speaker whom Goodwin and Pert encountered in New Zealand shortly after Pert's controversial defence of the club's culture in late 2023, was also at the board meeting. Shand conducted the post-season review last year which led to little meaningful change. The football department has been marked in recent years by some strange and at times eyebrow-raising job-sharing decisions. This was underlined again in June when the club's chief communications executive Clare Pettyfor was appointed head of the club's AFLW program with a role in list management after the departure of Marcus Wagner. The latter reportedly navigated roles in both the men's and women's program. It seems unfeasible that Pettyfor can balance three such crucial roles. Port Adelaide premiership coach Mark Williams remains probably the highest-paid development coach in the competition – not unjustifiable given his credentials – but he is out of contract. So is high-performance boss Selwyn Griffith. Credited for his key part in the triumph of 2021, Williams has struggled more recently with the demarcation between his AFL and VFL duties. Williams, with his brainchild Sherrin Precision football enterprise, has also performed the role of goalkicking coach this year. The move of highly rated defence coach Troy Chaplin to oversee the forwards – a change which came under scrutiny from this masthead at the aforementioned breakfast – has not reaped the results hoped for this season. An even stranger double-up was the move to use player development manager Reece Conca as a runner on match days, a clear conflict given he was delivering instructions to players at the same time as he was also responsible for their welfare. The club has struggled with behavioural and cultural problems, including allegations of substance abuse among players. The responsibility of minding Clayton Oliver over his troubled summer of 2023-'24 was handed to the club's popular media boss, Matt Goodrope. Goodrope remains a respected figure at the club from the board down, but surely he was not adequately qualified for the daily role with Oliver at a time the player's life seemed in crisis and he was undergoing direct and regular intervention from the AFL's mental health team, league chiefs, AFLPA bosses and Pert. Coach Goodwin and captain Gawn have been forced to carry the public leadership duties all season and did so again this week after the horror final quarter against St Kilda last Sunday. 'We have been able to go through these challenges before with clarity and strength and stability to create success,' said Goodwin on Thursday.

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Max Gawn doesn't need a statue erected in his likeness when Melbourne eventually finds a new home base. He needs someone to get on to the powers that be in Rome and wrangle up a sainthood. As the Demons were picking up the pieces of another gut-wrenching, soul-destroying loss that could help decide Simon Goodwin's fate there was Gawn again. Explaining why they sky hadn't fallen in (it had), spruiking a new dawn, backing the club to front up against West Coast in a contest it just cannot lose under any circumstances. Gawn is officially Melbourne's captain. In reality he is everything to this club. He has been a part-time nanny when Clayton Oliver was struggling off the field, opening up his home to the Demons star. He has been a part-time mediator, when teammates Jake Melksham and Steven May brawled outside the Entrecote restaurant. He has been a full-time psychoanalyst, desperately attempting to decipher Christian Petracca's motivations when he suddenly turned against the club after initially appearing happy with its support over his King's Birthday injury. This year he turned crisis-manager when coach Goodwin unwittingly exposed a family health issue when he spoke of the 'backstory' behind his on-field thrashing from Tristan Xerri. And he resisted the temptation to throw May under the bus when his teammate's reaction to his shanked kick against Collingwood was to repeatedly get in his face. What must he truly have wanted to say to May after all the messes he has cleaned up? All this from a captain who has had to spend the past two years backing his coach over a series of headlines over his alleged behavioural issues. And yet despite it all he is still firmly on track for an eighth All-Australian jumper in 10 seasons. He isn't flawless – of his 21 shots at goal this year he has kicked 4.14 and three total misses, even worse than Petracca's 15.21 and 13 total misses (15 goals from 49 shots). But he is pretty close to perfect. Former Carlton captain Marc Murphy can remember the late-night calls and crisis discussions that often came with leading a team through those ups and downs, with his final year at the helm a two-win 2018 season. 'I have been there plenty of times. You get the call from the coach or head of football or president or CEO late at night and it can never be a good thing,' he said on Friday. 'I remember those times. It's almost like, 'Not again, what has happened here'. 'The one thing is that it can take the energy out of your own performances, having those spotfires always constantly bobbing up and take away from your own game. 'Sometimes it can wear you down for the long-term and reduce the amount of seasons you play. But if you look at Max, some guys feed off it. They enjoy playing that role. They enjoy being across everything. He might be a guy who enjoys all the different aspects of it. 'He might really enjoy it. To me he seems the perfect captain. He doesn't get bogged down by the minutiae, he is laid back. And I assume he is one of those guys who just says, 'I am up for the job and want to keep doing it'. Thankfully within Melbourne there is no suggestion Gawn is keen to give up the captaincy, even if at 33 he should be transitioning into his football dotage like Scott Pendlebury. But the issue for Melbourne is that there is no real Darcy Moore type coming along behind him. Gawn's innate skill is finding that beautiful balance between getting on with everyone and realising their own motivations while also being able to deliver blunt feedback. Vice-captain Jack Viney is a strong leader but only knows one way to improve – train harder, work longer, give 110 per cent. Viney would want to concentrate on his own form anyway given his struggles this year, while Jake Lever is 29 and has already been dropped this year amid trade speculation. Petracca has responded in exactly the right way within the club to his annus horribilis and has had a sneaky strong year marred by very ordinary kicking. But given his determination to leave last year he would not be a contender even if Gawn was desperate to hand over the leadership. Tom Sparrow is another emerging leader but apart from him the list isn't exactly oozing leadership potential. It is why it is so easy to make the case that Gawn is the best captain in football. He has held this group together through sheer will and bloody-mindedness while also finding time to thrive as an AFL great. And he will do it again next year as the captain. He might not get his sainthood but like his great mentor Jimmy Stynes he will be as revered as the Demons champions of last century who seemingly won premierships for fun in the late 1950s and early 1960s.