‘From a bygone era’: AFL veteran sent to Tribunal after unique ruling

Melbourne defender Steven May will front an AFL tribunal hearing after an act that has divided the football world.

Melbourne veteran Steven May is heading to the Tribunal with a three-week ban hanging over his head for a brutal collision with Carlton’s Francis Evans.

In the third quarter of Saturday night’s enthralling eight-point Carlton win, the Demons defender and Evans charged towards a loose ball inside Melbourne’s defensive 50 with Melbourne trailing by just two points.

As the yellow Sherrin continued to roll over itself towards Carlton’s goal, the ball popped up favourably for either player to make their own. Evans beat May to the ball by no more than a quarter of a second, but his mini victory very quickly ended his night — with May electing to brace at full speed after relinquishing his chase of the ball.

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It left Evans bloodied and battered in a hit that also knocked out a tooth of his. The 23-year-old was groggy to get to his feet as claret quickly appeared on his face, before leaving the field of play with a concussion diagnosis imminent.

Steven May's brutal bump on Francis Evans will almost certainly draw a multi-week ban from the AFL's Match Review Officer.

The Match Review Officer determined the incident was careless with severe impact and high contact, but rather than just handing May three weeks on the sidelines, he has referred it to the Tribunal - saving Melbourne $10,000 on needing to challenge the call. The AFL could ask for either three or four weeks in the hearing.

While May never intended to concuss the rival Blue, the force and action with which he made contact on Evans has left three-time Richmond premiership player Jack Riewoldt with little doubt over an appropriate sanction.

“I think it’s unfortunate Steven May’s collected him high, but if you come in with that sort of velocity there … the collision was inevitable. Steven May has a duty of care when Francis Evans has the ball there,” Riewoldt told Fox Footy’s Super Saturday Live after the final siren.

“For me, this will go to the Tribunal — and it’s how hard, or how big a penalty they want to give Steven May. If they rank it severe, it could be anywhere from four to five weeks.”

Two-time All-Australian David King agreed with Riewoldt’s proposed suspension, and even wondered whether the hit could end May’s 2025 season.

“My view is, you’ve got to come at it from the victim’s point of view. What are we asking Evans to do?” King questioned.

“He’s entitled to go at the ball in that fashion, and the game is supposed to protect him — that’s what we’ve been preaching. So I don’t have any empathy (for May) really in this instance, I think he knew he was going to make contact.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the last time we see Steven May this season.”

King also said: “He picked him off. It’s as simple as that. He knew exactly what he was doing and he picked him off. This is from a bygone era. This is not 2025.

“He’s played his last game for the season. That’s as bad as it gets, you’ve got a player in vulnerable position, you choose to bump, you hit nothing but the absolute middle of his face.

“This is a six-weeker for me. It doesn’t get worse than that.”

In another unfortunate hit, a Tom De Koning knee to the back of May’s head in the dying minutes of the match saw the former Sun taken from the ground for concussion testing of his own — which coach Simon Goodwin later confirmed he failed in his post-match press conference.

It means the 33-year-old will join Evans in the league’s concussion protocols for at least 12 days, and rules him out of a return to AFL before August 2 against West Coast; regardless of whether or not he is suspended.

“This is a really interesting test case for Michael Christian, in a year full of them. If he has elected to bump, then it’s gone — that’s done,” Fox Footy reporter David Zita added.

“But even if he hasn’t ‘elected’ to bump, if he is contesting the ball, is it reasonable for him to contest the ball in that way? That’s what the MRO’s going to have to weigh up.

“It might be a sleepless night (for Michael Christian) ... if he hasn’t done that (elected to bump), he’s missing at least three weeks and potentially more — depending on what the AFL wants to try and push for at the Tribunal. Once it is reportable, then it’s automatically three weeks at least because of the outcome with Francis Evans.

“What we’ve learnt this season, and in seasons past, is that particular way to approach a contest is not really something permitted in the rules or by the MRO.”

May has previously been suspended long-term for a bump on an opposition player, most notably back in 2016 when knocking out Brisbane ruck Stefan Martin during his time playing at Gold Coast.

Saturday night’s clash was May’s 249th at AFL level, however his milestone match looks likely to have to wait until the back end of this year — or worst case scenario — at the start of 2026.

“I think he’s in trouble. It’s a contest that he’s second to the ball (so) you then have to have a duty of care to slow down. The stride length doesn’t change, he doesn’t show any pattern to slow down. He gets him high with a shoulder to the face,” Riewoldt ended by saying.

“It’s a no-brainer for mine, it definitely goes to the Tribunal. You see the scenes post that, it’s a pretty gruesome injury.

“Nothing would shock me here. Whether they go three, four or five (weeks), I think it’s going to be on the higher scale of a suspension.”

A May-less Melbourne will face up against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium next Sunday to close out Round 20.

Originally published as ‘From a bygone era’: AFL veteran sent to Tribunal after unique ruling