Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin says defender Steven May thought he did right thing in contest that earnt 3-match ban

Steven May thought he contested the ball in the right way before colliding with a Carlton opponent and is shattered by a three-match ban Melbourne is appealing.

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin remains adamant banned defender Steven May had a “play at the ball” in the contest that landed him a three-match ban, hopeful his appeal is successful and declaring the premiership winner left the MCG last Saturday thinking he’d done nothing wrong.

May remains “devastated and shattered” after being handed the ban despite an AFL tribunal ruling he didn’t bump Carlton’s Francis Evans in the incident that has divided the football world.

Goodwin said the collision was a “football incident” but players would continue to be educated on what they could and couldn’t do in the wake of a crackdown on headhigh contact, and the onus was on players to take more care approaching contests.

“We think he had a play on the ball and it was a football incident,” the Melbourne coach said on Friday.

Melbourne's Steven May’s hit on Francis Evans.

“From my perspective, that’s ultimately the argument that we’ll go with.

“Clearly, there’s some legal stuff that they’ll go through in terms of the case as part of the appeal.

“But you can see it’s divided a lot of the public and I think it’s one of those cases where everyone wants it to go through the appeals (process) and see what the outcome is going to be.”

Evans suffered a concussion, a broken nose and a missing tooth after the high-speed collision.

May will face the appeals board next week, and Goodwin made it clear the club would argue it remained a viable football act despite the outcome.

Steven May is ‘shattered’ by the ban. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Goodwin said May was only left more confused by the tribunal outcome and hoped the appeal could provide more clarity

“Right from the outset when he first came to the bench, he was a little bit confused and thought he’d done the right thing and gone at the footy,” Goodwin said.

“He was shattered, he was disappointed with the outcome and clearly frustrated.

“This is part of the process, go through the appeals, get the clarity required and we’ll all move forward post that.”

May is recovering from his own concussion suffered in the match against the Blues and despite his disappointment at the tribunal hearing would remain focused on his recovery in a bid to get back before the end of the season, should his appeal fail.

“He seems in good spirits and he’s obviously stepping through his protocols in the right manner,” Goodwin said.

Originally published as Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin says defender Steven May thought he did right thing in contest that earnt 3-match ban