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Daily Telegraph
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
AFL news: Melbourne Demon Steven May learns his fate for his divisive bump on Carlton forward Francis Evans
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Steven May has learned his fate for his hit on Carlton forward Francis Evans that fiercely divided the AFL fraternity and led to a hugely drawn out deliberation. May's act left 23-year-old Evans bloodied with a broken nose and a displaced tooth, graded by the Match Review Officer as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact. Referred directly to the Tribunal, the AFL was seeking a three-match ban for the incident and after taking well over an hour to make a call, the charge was upheld and that is the suspension he received. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. The Demons entered a not guilty plea to the rough conduct charge and wanted the case thrown out, listing nine reasons for that stance, including May's height, the unexpected bounce of the ball and the fact he didn't jump from the ground. They argued May's contact was not unreasonable as he accelerated towards a footy that was in dispute and the defender believed he would take possession first. Francis Evans was left in a bad way after the Steven May hit. Photos:The AFL argued 33-year-old May had breached his duty of care, however, and they got their way, with May to serve three matches on the sideline. Fox Footy's David Zita, who was at the hearing, reported May telling the Tribunal: 'It was sort of skimming across the surface, so I definitely thought it was my ball, given how the previous couple of bounces went. 'I was surprised Evans got to the ball first and did not try to bump him, maintaining the original line. 'I attempted to slow down, but it was too late. 'I just can't believe I didn't take possession. I thought I did everything right, so I'm just a bit shocked.' May was keen to see a replay. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/via Getty Images) Evans at least had a smile on his face in the rooms after Carlton's win. Picture: Michael Klein The Demons were expected to strongly lean on the case of Fremantle captain Alex Pearce, who initially copped a three-game ban for his collision that concussed Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones back in May. In that incident, the defender had his suspension overturned in what was widely considered a crucial test case for players contesting the ball in collisions which cause concussion. The verdict means May season is all but over, now missing games against St Kilda, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs, returning for the round 23 clash with the Hawks. There were a huge range of opinions over May's incident, which came in the third quarter of the Blues' eight-point win. Port Adelaide veteran Travis Boak conceded the outcome for his former teammate Evans was a terrible look, but wondered what else May could have done. 'In my view it's a footy act, in terms of he looked like he had a play on the ball,' he said on AFL 360. 'He went for the ball and the last minute his decision is 'oh no, I can't get the ball' and sort of braced and that's where the impact came from. 'I don't think there's much he can do here, he had a play for the ball until the very last second and has to make a split decision almost to protect himself. 'Unfortunately 'Frankie' gets hit in the head and the outcome looks really bad, there's a lot of blood and concussion and we don't want to see that. 'But it's a decision made at the last second so I'm not sure what else he could've done.' Evans is surrounded by teammates after the collision. (Photo by) West Coast premiership player Will Schofield told AFL Tonight: 'Maybe we see a one-week penalty because of the outcome, but I don't think this is an act we need out of the game. 'I thought he did everything right until he didn't and those sorts of accidental outcomes, I don't think we should be penalising.' Pies great Nathan Buckley took a different stance, telling Fox Footy: 'I don't know whether our game is capable of allowing that anymore.' Many fans took the same side as Boak, but there was still a cross section of opinions on social media. One wrote on X: 'Should be nothing, stop encouraging the continued destruction of the game.' Another tweeted: 'That is 1000% a footy action, contesting the football at all times. It's not even a bump.' A third offered: 'There is no duty of care towards the player and May contacts the head.' A fourth wrote: 'S**t that's terrible, should be 5 weeks.' In the lead-up to the hearing, journalist Jon Ralph told Fox Footy's Midweek Tackle his intel regarding Melbourne's likely defence. 'They (the Demons) are convinced that Steven May will get off and they think that the Alex Pearce case is the key,' he said. 'Melbourne believes the fact that it was a marking contest for Alex Pearce, rather than a groundball, actually helps them. Because with Pearce, the ball was in the air, it wasn't moving (bouncing unpredictably) there. Another angle of the May incident. Photo: Fox Sports 'With May, on a slippery night, the ball bounced and bounced, and they felt it was absolutely going to bounce towards May. 'So, in that case, Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson, when he dismissed the Pearce case, said 'it has never been the Tribunal's position that a concussion inevitably results in a careless finding'. 'Adrian Anderson, the Melbourne advocate, will go to work on that statement. Pearce's testimony was absolutely compelling, so Steven May … he will tell the truth. '(Melbourne's) position is that it would actually add confusion and indeed chaos if he was actually suspended, because we would be totally confused about where we're at, when we got a bit of clarity with Alex Pearce a few weeks back.' In the end, the AFL got its way and May will be out for three weeks. – with Fox Sports Originally published as AFL star Steven May learns his fate for divisive Carlton act
News.com.au
a day ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
AFL star Steven May learns his fate for divisive Carlton act
Steven May has learned his fate for his hit on Carlton forward Francis Evans that fiercely divided the AFL fraternity and led to a hugely drawn out deliberation. May's act left 23-year-old Evans bloodied with a broken nose and a displaced tooth, graded by the Match Review Officer as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact. Referred directly to the Tribunal, the AFL was seeking a three-match ban for the incident and after taking well over an hour to make a call, the charge was upheld and that is the suspension he received. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. The Demons entered a not guilty plea to the rough conduct charge and wanted the case thrown out, listing nine reasons for that stance, including May's height, the unexpected bounce of the ball and the fact he didn't jump from the ground. They argued May's contact was not unreasonable as he accelerated towards a footy that was in dispute and the defender believed he would take possession first. The AFL argued 33-year-old May had breached his duty of care, however, and they got their way, with May to serve three matches on the sideline. Fox Footy's David Zita, who was at the hearing, reported May telling the Tribunal: 'It was sort of skimming across the surface, so I definitely thought it was my ball, given how the previous couple of bounces went. 'I was surprised Evans got to the ball first and did not try to bump him, maintaining the original line. 'I attempted to slow down, but it was too late. 'I just can't believe I didn't take possession. I thought I did everything right, so I'm just a bit shocked.' The Demons were expected to strongly lean on the case of Fremantle captain Alex Pearce, who initially copped a three-game ban for his collision that concussed Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones back in May. In that incident, the defender had his suspension overturned in what was widely considered a crucial test case for players contesting the ball in collisions which cause concussion. The verdict means May season is all but over, now missing games against St Kilda, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs, returning for the round 23 clash with the Hawks. There were a huge range of opinions over May's incident, which came in the third quarter of the Blues' eight-point win. Port Adelaide veteran Travis Boak conceded the outcome for his former teammate Evans was a terrible look, but wondered what else May could have done. 'In my view it's a footy act, in terms of he looked like he had a play on the ball,' he said on AFL 360. 'He went for the ball and the last minute his decision is 'oh no, I can't get the ball' and sort of braced and that's where the impact came from. 'I don't think there's much he can do here, he had a play for the ball until the very last second and has to make a split decision almost to protect himself. 'Unfortunately 'Frankie' gets hit in the head and the outcome looks really bad, there's a lot of blood and concussion and we don't want to see that. 'But it's a decision made at the last second so I'm not sure what else he could've done.' West Coast premiership player Will Schofield told AFL Tonight: 'Maybe we see a one-week penalty because of the outcome, but I don't think this is an act we need out of the game. 'I thought he did everything right until he didn't and those sorts of accidental outcomes, I don't think we should be penalising.' Pies great Nathan Buckley took a different stance, telling Fox Footy: 'I don't know whether our game is capable of allowing that anymore.' Many fans took the same side as Boak, but there was still a cross section of opinions on social media. One wrote on X: 'Should be nothing, stop encouraging the continued destruction of the game.' Another tweeted: 'That is 1000% a footy action, contesting the football at all times. It's not even a bump.' A third offered: 'There is no duty of care towards the player and May contacts the head.' A fourth wrote: 'S**t that's terrible, should be 5 weeks.' In the lead-up to the hearing, journalist Jon Ralph told Fox Footy's Midweek Tackle his intel regarding Melbourne's likely defence. 'They (the Demons) are convinced that Steven May will get off and they think that the Alex Pearce case is the key,' he said. 'Melbourne believes the fact that it was a marking contest for Alex Pearce, rather than a groundball, actually helps them. Because with Pearce, the ball was in the air, it wasn't moving (bouncing unpredictably) there. 'With May, on a slippery night, the ball bounced and bounced, and they felt it was absolutely going to bounce towards May. 'So, in that case, Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson, when he dismissed the Pearce case, said 'it has never been the Tribunal's position that a concussion inevitably results in a careless finding'. 'Adrian Anderson, the Melbourne advocate, will go to work on that statement. Pearce's testimony was absolutely compelling, so Steven May … he will tell the truth. '(Melbourne's) position is that it would actually add confusion and indeed chaos if he was actually suspended, because we would be totally confused about where we're at, when we got a bit of clarity with Alex Pearce a few weeks back.' In the end, the AFL got its way and May will be out for three weeks.
Perth Now
a day ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
AFL tribunal goes into ‘ghost' mode as Steven May learns fate
The AFL tribunal has taken an eternity to make decision on Melbourne star Steven May, who was cited for a controversial collision that concussed Carlton's Francis Evans on Saturday night. May faced the tribunal via a video hook-up on Wednesday night, with the tribunal eventually deciding — after deliberating for more than hour — the All-Australian defender was banned for three games. May was cited for rough conduct in an incident that divided the AFL world. It was reported that insiders at the AFL believed the case to be the most challenging they had seen in years. Experts were also divided, with some believing that May had to make a contest of the situation, while others have suggested he needed to slow down or deviate when he realised he was on a collision course with Evans. Star Channel 7 commentators Daisy Thomas and Kane Cornes both believe May had little choice but to contest the ball and make contact. Steven May collects Francis Evans with a high shot. Credit: Fox Footy Evans was a bloodied mess after the collision. Credit: Getty Images Thomas said ahead of the tribunal: 'My mind would be blown if he does not get off. This is a footballing act to its core.' But North Melbourne great David King said May needed to be punished because Evans was hit 'with the absolute point of the shoulder' and May hit him 'flush' The AFL's match review officer Michael Christian graded May's contact as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact. But May told the tribunal on Wednesday that he could not believe he didn't take possession of the ball. 'I thought I did everything right, so I'm just a bit shocked,' he said. May and Evans clashed at speed, but Evans arrived a fraction of a second earlier than his opponent, getting his hands to the ball before May caught him high. Melbourne lawyer Adrian Anderson said there were nine reasons why the incident wasn't rough conduct, which included both players were travelling at pace, May was 'contesting the ball', the ball's bounce was 'unexpected', May didn't move off line, he didn't jump off ground, and May was significantly taller than Evans. Before the final decision was handed down, the tribunal deliberated for over an hour leading one tribunal reporter to wonder if the panel had gone into ghost mode. 'Has the Tribunal f***n ghosted me?' Fox Footy reporter David Zita wondered on social media, while a fan said: 'Ghosted all of us ...' Zita continued as he waited for the verdict: 'I'm sorry, but what the actual f***.' Eventually, the tribunal panel released its findings, deciding May was banned for three games. After the incident, Blues coach Michael Voss believed May's act was fair. 'Both players were in line with the ball and seemed to be attacking it,' he said post-match. 'Both sort of making a play at the ball, maybe one person was one step late, and obviously then the incident happens. 'But for Frankie (Evans) to be able to hold his line with a pretty strong man coming the other way was a pretty important moment in the game.' Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said May's intent was 'clearly' to win the ball. 'If you just look at his pure intent, it was purely for the ball and it was unfortunate,' he said. Goodwin said the AFL was doing an 'unbelievable' job in trying to eradicate concussion from the game. 'It's important that we limit it as much as we can but there will be football incidents where someone is concussed,' he said. May was concussed himself in a separate incident and was already ruled out of the Round 20 game.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Picked off' or ‘not that bad'? The hit dividing football - and why it will decide the game's future
King said on Fox Footy that he believed May 'picked off' Evans in an incident from a 'bygone era', and his hit warranted a six-week suspension. May later suffered a concussion of his own when Tom De Koning accidentally kneed him in the head during a last-quarter marking contest, so he will miss Sunday's match against St Kilda anyway. Comparable recent cases In May, the tribunal cleared Fremantle captain Alex Pearce after the Dockers successfully argued against Christian's careless classification for his collision with Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones. Pearce's case differed from May's in that it was an aerial collision in a marking contest, but there were similarities in how Pearce arrived second to the ball and took his eyes off it at the last second to brace for contact. Pearce's legal team did not challenge the classifications of severe impact and high contact. They argued Pearce's actions were reasonable, with the veteran defender stressing he was making a genuine attempt to complete a chest mark at the point of collision. However, the case involving North Melbourne's Jackson Archer in March could also be relevant. Archer's three-game ban for his role in a collision that concussed Western Bulldog Luke Cleary was upheld at the tribunal, after the match review officer graded the Roo's actions as careless, severe impact and high contact. North's defence focused on Cleary's decision to go to ground to collect the ball, rather than stay on his feet. Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson acknowledged that rules encouraged players to keep their feet, but said that did not always happen and 'players need to be aware', saying Archer had 'slowed too little and too late'. What others are saying Former Hawk Isaac Smith's take on May's actions contrasts greatly with King. Speaking on Nine's Sunday Footy Show, Smith argued that May should not be suspended and that Evans' injuries were an unfortunate consequence of playing a contact sport. 'The only thing I can see the MRO picking up is that he didn't stay low, and he came up a couple of steps before he got to the contest – and that's what caused the impact,' Smith said. 'It's a line-ball one, and it's going to be fascinating to see where it ends up. I feel for Steven May here because I feel like he was contesting the ball and obviously, Evans is a smaller player to what he is. 'I think you can see him getting no weeks, or you can see him getting four weeks. The more I look at it, I think no weeks ... you look at the Alex Pearce one, [and] May has not done anything to initiate that contact.' Triple M's breakfast crew, including ex-St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt, grilled Gawn on the May case on Monday. Gawn was adamant that May did not bump Evans, but that he was 'never going to take a backward step'. 'Whatever happens, will be the precedent. I understand you've got to look after the head, but it's going to be an interesting tribunal case. I might actually watch it,' Gawn said. 'I came in to defend [May] a little bit when it first happened, and the Carlton boys weren't really remonstrating, and then we all had a look at the ground and the guy's tooth was missing, so it was, 'OK, maybe I can't defend 'Maysy' '. 'Then we watched the replay, and we were like, 'Actually, it's not that bad', and the Carlton boys still didn't remonstrate, really, so it's a tough one.' Riewoldt, who did not believe May's actions were 'malicious', added that the Blues' eventual reaction was 'almost like out of obligation'. 'If he does get rubbed out, then essentially what we're saying is ... players have to be able to calculate from 20 metres away; the speed the other player is going, the speed you're going to be going, and the fact you're going to arrive a microsecond late,' Riewoldt said. Carlton forward Harry McKay said Nova that it was a 'nasty incident' but that no player would intentionally hit an opponent in the head. Former greats James Hird and Jimmy Bartel had sympathy for May but expect him to receive a suspension. Loading 'This is a really difficult one,' Hird said. 'If he had have stayed a little bit lower and kept his eye totally on the ball, he would be OK. But at the last split-second, he comes up, and his eyes go off the ball, which is why I think it will be three weeks. 'I don't think he has gone out on purpose to hurt anybody. Five years ago, it wouldn't have got weeks. But the rules have changed and unfortunately, for him, his shoulder gets him in the head.'
The Age
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
‘Picked off' or ‘not that bad'? The hit dividing football - and why it will decide the game's future
King said on Fox Footy that he believed May 'picked off' Evans in an incident from a 'bygone era', and his hit warranted a six-week suspension. May later suffered a concussion of his own when Tom De Koning accidentally kneed him in the head during a last-quarter marking contest, so he will miss Sunday's match against St Kilda anyway. Comparable recent cases In May, the tribunal cleared Fremantle captain Alex Pearce after the Dockers successfully argued against Christian's careless classification for his collision with Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones. Pearce's case differed from May's in that it was an aerial collision in a marking contest, but there were similarities in how Pearce arrived second to the ball and took his eyes off it at the last second to brace for contact. Pearce's legal team did not challenge the classifications of severe impact and high contact. They argued Pearce's actions were reasonable, with the veteran defender stressing he was making a genuine attempt to complete a chest mark at the point of collision. However, the case involving North Melbourne's Jackson Archer in March could also be relevant. Archer's three-game ban for his role in a collision that concussed Western Bulldog Luke Cleary was upheld at the tribunal, after the match review officer graded the Roo's actions as careless, severe impact and high contact. North's defence focused on Cleary's decision to go to ground to collect the ball, rather than stay on his feet. Tribunal chairman Jeff Gleeson acknowledged that rules encouraged players to keep their feet, but said that did not always happen and 'players need to be aware', saying Archer had 'slowed too little and too late'. What others are saying Former Hawk Isaac Smith's take on May's actions contrasts greatly with King. Speaking on Nine's Sunday Footy Show, Smith argued that May should not be suspended and that Evans' injuries were an unfortunate consequence of playing a contact sport. 'The only thing I can see the MRO picking up is that he didn't stay low, and he came up a couple of steps before he got to the contest – and that's what caused the impact,' Smith said. 'It's a line-ball one, and it's going to be fascinating to see where it ends up. I feel for Steven May here because I feel like he was contesting the ball and obviously, Evans is a smaller player to what he is. 'I think you can see him getting no weeks, or you can see him getting four weeks. The more I look at it, I think no weeks ... you look at the Alex Pearce one, [and] May has not done anything to initiate that contact.' Triple M's breakfast crew, including ex-St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt, grilled Gawn on the May case on Monday. Gawn was adamant that May did not bump Evans, but that he was 'never going to take a backward step'. 'Whatever happens, will be the precedent. I understand you've got to look after the head, but it's going to be an interesting tribunal case. I might actually watch it,' Gawn said. 'I came in to defend [May] a little bit when it first happened, and the Carlton boys weren't really remonstrating, and then we all had a look at the ground and the guy's tooth was missing, so it was, 'OK, maybe I can't defend 'Maysy' '. 'Then we watched the replay, and we were like, 'Actually, it's not that bad', and the Carlton boys still didn't remonstrate, really, so it's a tough one.' Riewoldt, who did not believe May's actions were 'malicious', added that the Blues' eventual reaction was 'almost like out of obligation'. 'If he does get rubbed out, then essentially what we're saying is ... players have to be able to calculate from 20 metres away; the speed the other player is going, the speed you're going to be going, and the fact you're going to arrive a microsecond late,' Riewoldt said. Carlton forward Harry McKay said Nova that it was a 'nasty incident' but that no player would intentionally hit an opponent in the head. Former greats James Hird and Jimmy Bartel had sympathy for May but expect him to receive a suspension. Loading 'This is a really difficult one,' Hird said. 'If he had have stayed a little bit lower and kept his eye totally on the ball, he would be OK. But at the last split-second, he comes up, and his eyes go off the ball, which is why I think it will be three weeks. 'I don't think he has gone out on purpose to hurt anybody. Five years ago, it wouldn't have got weeks. But the rules have changed and unfortunately, for him, his shoulder gets him in the head.'
