AFL Tribunal hands Demons' Steven May three-match ban for controversial collision

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

Melbourne's Steven May has received a three-match suspension for the controversial collision that concussed Francis Evans and left the Carlton forward with a broken nose and a chipped tooth.
May's case was sent directly to the AFL Tribunal on Wednesday night, with the rough conduct charge graded as careless, severe impact and high contact.
AFL Tribunal counsel Andrew Woods pushed for a three-match ban to be imposed, declaring May should have slowed down or changed direction to either avoid or lessen the collision.
It was a position with which the three-person tribunal ultimately agreed, delivering a guilty verdict after deliberating for more than 90 minutes.
May had pleaded not guilty, with his lawyer Adrian Anderson arguing his client's actions were not unreasonable.
The premiership defender clashed with Evans at speed while attacking a loose ball in the Blues' eight-point win at the MCG on Saturday night.
Given the rolling ball popped up during its final bounce, Evans arrived a fraction of a second earlier than his opponent, with a charging May making contact after continuing his trajectory.
May was also concussed in the same match, and he thanked the AFL tribunal for pushing the hearing out to Wednesday instead of the usual Tuesday slot.
During his evidence, he reiterated the fact he thought he would arrive at the bouncing ball first.
"I definitely thought it was my ball given how the previous bounces reacted," May said.
"Then it took an unusual bounce given the conditions. It actually bounced up and towards Evans, which I didn't anticipate."
May's hands were still in front of him in a collect-the-ball type pose when his shoulder made contact with Evans's head.
"I thought it was going to be in my hands. I just can't believe I didn't take possession," May said.
"I thought I did everything right. I was shocked."
In his findings, tribunal chair Jeff Gleeson said the evidence from the biomechanics expert showed May had only 0.56 seconds from the ball's final bounce until the moment of the collision, and that he would have needed at least 0.2 to 0.25 seconds to react.
"We find, however, that May could and should have reacted before the moment of the last bounce of the ball," Gleeson said.
"Even if, contrary to our view, May could and should not have reacted until the final bounce of the ball, we find that he had sufficient time to position his body so that he was no longer attempting to gather the ball.
"It's important to note in this regard that May had a relatively long period of time to sum up the key features of the contest.
"May ran a sufficient distance and had sufficient time with an unimpeded view of what was before him to determine what he could and should do in the likely event he did not reach the ball first or at the same time."
AAP