Steven May’s bump has divided football. His tribunal case will decide the future of the game

It is the must-watch tribunal case that Melbourne captain Max Gawn believes will set the tone for the foreseeable future.

Fellow Demon Steven May’s high-speed, front-on collision with Carlton forward Francis Evans – which left the Blue concussed, and with a bloodied nose and missing tooth – has sparked fierce debate across the AFL landscape.

Two angles of Melbourne defender Steven May’s clash with Carlton’s Francis Evans at the MCG.Credit: Fox Footy

They came from opposite directions, and both initially had eyes only for the Sherrin, but Evans arrived just before May, who braced for contact and crashed into his Carlton rival’s head with his right shoulder.

Evans collapsed to the turf before rising to show the bloodied mess his face had become.

Evans’ teammates did not immediately remonstrate with May, but Charlie Curnow shoved the Melbourne defender – who protested his innocence – after spying the replay.

AFL match review officer Michael Christian assessed the incident as careless conduct, with severe impact and high contact, which resulted in May’s case going straight to the tribunal.

It is the latest test of the league’s crackdown on the game’s concerning head knocks.

May’s apologists argue he had only a split-second to decide what to do and had few options, whereas critics – headlined by North Melbourne premiership player David King – think a lengthy ban is on the cards.

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.

Alex Pearce was cleared for his bump on Darcy Byrne-Jones.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images

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.

The collision between Jackson Archer and Luke Cleary.Credit: Fox Footy

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”.

Francis Evans lost a tooth in the incident. Credit: via Getty Images

“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 on 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.

“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.”

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