'Tipping point': Claim levelled at Max Gawn amid new vision of clash with Steven May
Max Gawn did his best to downplay an ugly clash with Melbourne teammate Steven May, but AFL great Nick Riewoldt says it shows the normally unflappable Demons skipper has reached his 'tipping point'. Channel Seven showed new vision of the incident after the final siren that showed May actually went back for a second crack at his teammate, in scenes Riewoldt described as 'extraordinary' after Melbourne's heartbreaking one-point defeat to Collingwood.
With less than one minute left, Gawn took a mark in the back pocket but miscued his kick straight to Collingwood's Will Hoskin-Elliott after being made to play on. The blunder ended any hopes of the Demons snatching a miraculous win as the Pies claimed a 11.6 (72) to 10.11 (71) victory in the King's Birthday clash at the MCG.
Melbourne's Daniel Turner immediately went over to console Gawn but May was furious and made his feelings known to his skipper. Gawn clearly didn't appreciate the lecture and shot May an irritated look before pushing his teammate away in heated scenes.
Speaking about the ugly flashpoint after the game, Riewoldt said it was completely out of character for Gawn, who is such a respected leader and usually so calm under pressure. But the St Kilda great suggested the pressures at the club and previous controversies around Demons teammates appeared to have finally taken a toll.
Christian Petracca's injury saga from last year's King's Birthday clash caused a divide between Melbourne teammates and Clayton Oliver has had his fair of off-field dramas at the club in recent seasons. And Riewoldt suggested it all came to a head for Gawn on Monday night, with the May incident suggesting there are still cracks in the playing group.
"It was extraordinary wasn't it. Here's the disappointment in Max Gawn. He's just made an error. He was looking for some support from his mate and Steven May comes in. He doesn't want a bar of it. And then there's the push," Riewoldt said on Channel 7's Agenda Setters. 'To me this is tipping point for Max.
'I reckon he has carried such a massive load for so long. He's been pseudo CEO. He's been pseudo president. He's been the mouthpiece for the club last year. He's been their best player. Today it just spoiled over for him.' May is renowned for being a combative teammate and Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes suggested Gawn was just "sick of it" on Monday night.
Goal post vision shows Steven May come back and confront Max Gawn a SECOND time.Stream The Agenda Setters on 7plus 👉 https://t.co/M9q2CvkrTf pic.twitter.com/HuUVBM2wef
— 7AFL (@7AFL) June 9, 2025
But Gawn and Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin played down the incident post-game, with the Demons skipper suggesting he and May would have words to sort it all out. "We just both want to win and I'm not exactly sure what actually happened - it was very loud with the crowd and what-not," Gawn said.
"But we both want to win and it was a very disappointing last 30 seconds in the way it played out. "Maysey just wants to win and he holds us all to high standards. It was too loud for me to even know. I didn't realise the cameras were on us but it obviously was caught."
Melbourne's coach simply put it down to the competitive nature of the pair and the frustration around losing a game they thought they should have won. "[Just] two competitors that are frustrated, two leaders that got an incredibly strong relationship, that are obviously disappointed with the outcome," Goodwin said.
"But as I've spoken to the whole group about, yeah, be disappointed with the outcome, but keep working on the things that'll keep making us better. They've moved on already. They're in [the rooms] having a good chat about it. And yeah, they've moved on pretty quickly."
with AAP
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