Melbourne has begun its fight to overturn Steven May’s three-match ban at the AFL Appeals board, in a last-ditch bid to make him available for this weekend.
May was suspended by the AFL Tribunal last week following a lengthy hearing for his collision with Carlton’s Francis Evans in Round 19, which left the small forward concussed, with a broken nose and chipped tooth.
It was one of the most polarising and complex cases in recent memory given May appeared to make a genuine play for the ball and only collected Evans high at the last moment when the ball also changed direction.
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Melbourne, who leant on the Alex Pearce case from Round 11, argued that May’s conduct in the circumstances was not unreasonable — with Adrian Anderson presenting a whopping nine reasons to support their contention — while the AFL’s argument was that May’s conduct was a breach of the duty of care that he owed Evans.
The tribunal ultimately decided May “engaged in rough conduct that was unreasonable in the circumstances” and claimed he had “sufficient time” to change motion — and thus avoid contact with Evans— had the Demons defender not arrived at the ball first.
May already missed the Demons’ fade-out loss to St Kilda with concussion, while if the club’s Monday night appeal is unsuccessful, he’ll miss the club’s next two games against West Cast and Western Bulldogs.
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