AFL MRO News: Melbourne Demons defender handed hefty fine for staging in North Melbourne victory
Melbourne Demons defender Steven May has been handed a hefty fine for staging in victory over North Melbourne. May, who is one of 14 players fined for their conduct on Saturday (June 22), was cited for staging which has a fine of $1875 attached and can be reduced to $1250 with an early guilty plea.
In an epic matchup between the Melbourne sides, North Melbourne almost completed a comeback against the Melbourne Demons. This was, however, overshadowed by the incident involving May and the ‘Roos Eddie Ford in the final minutes of the third quarter.
May was tackled by Ford and it initially appeared like the contact pushed May’s head to the ground. Ford was penalized for the dangerous play but many North Melbourne fans felt May should have conceded a free kick for holding onto the ball for long.
However, further review of the incident showed that May purposely leaned his head to the ground to simulate head contact when it was his shoulder that hit the ground.
AFL world criticizes Melbourne Demons defender for embarrassing conduct
Before the tribunal's decision for Melbourne Demons Steven May’s conduct in the staging incident was announced, Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes told AFL.com.au's The Round So Far that a fine was the most appropriate decision for May's behavior.
“It was an embarrassing effort from Steven May, who just has to be fined." Cornes said.
“The AFL can't allow unsportsmanlike behavior like that to go on," he added.
When the decision for May's behavior was announced, many supported the AFL tribunal's decision. GWS Giants senior coach Adam Kingsley spoke on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 and was happy that the AFL was taking serious steps to mitigate against head injuries.
“Yeah, it (May’s act) certainly has to be fined, and it has to be a pretty heavy fine,” Kingsley stated on Monday night.
“There’s got to be a change of action, and so for the action to change there’s got to be a fair punishment — so, yeah, I’m all for it," he added.
Former Collingwood Magpies coach Nathan Buckley believes even though staging is a part of the game and May is not the first and certainly won't be the last to ‘milk’ free kicks, the AFL's campaign for player protection against head injuries would be one to forget for the defender.
“Staging has been a part of the game. I reckon I’ve got two (bad ones) I can remember. I can only imagine how Steven May is feeling right now, but that doesn’t escape the reality of what he chose to do,” Buckley told SEN Breakfast.
“I actually think it sits on the worse level of staging for me because of what this rule is there to do. This rule is there to protect players and protect the head.
“The fact that a teammate of Steven May’s in Angus Brayshaw has left the game because of concussive effects and they hand out an award at the end of every game out of respect to Brayshaw — and that would be about courage, teamsmanship and playing the game with the right demeanor.”
Many fans of the sport too have used their social media pages to express their opinion on the Melbourne Demons defender's action and the resulting fine.