In the aftermath of the AFL opening an inquiry into the fight between Melbourne Demons teammates Steven May and Jake Melksham, new details have emerged over the clash.
The heated tussle between the teammates was reportedly sparked by a couple of verbal jabs directed at defender Joel Smith, who organised the night out at a Prahran restaurant for his teammates, according to The Age.
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Smith, who was sadly ruled out of the Demons’ preliminary final win last year after he tweaked his hamstring at training, copped a dig from May, sparking Melksham to stick up for his teammate.
May, who was handed a club-imposed one-match ban for drinking while sidelined by concussion, with the addition of community service, was belittling those in attendance as they sat around the table at the establishment, and Melksham was clearly upset when Smith was targeted.
The fight erupted after May reportedly told Melksham: “If you had have played in the granny (grand final) we would have lost.”
Melksham, who was an emergency for last year’s win over the Western Bulldogs in the decider, punched May in retaliation, with the venue accusing the two of causing significant damage to the premises.
Speaking to 3AW, AFL reporter Sam McClure described how the altercation occurred.
“There was a comment when they sat down which was made to Joel Smith saying, ‘This (dinner) is the best thing you’ve done all year’, made tongue in cheek,” he said.
“Then a different teammate to the person who made the first comment stepped in and said, ‘I’ll go further than that, it’s the best thing you did since you were injured in the final,’ because (Smith’s injury) opened doors for other players to come in (and play in the grand final).
“That’s where Jake Melksham said to pull (the comments) back and it’s there where Steven May took umbrage with the Jake Melksham comment and basically said, ‘How would you know (how we talk to each other), you usually play in the twos’.”
May was praised for playing through injury in the grand final win despite suffering a serious hamstring tear in the preliminary final last year.
Speaking at a press conference this week, Melbourne captain Max Gawn denied suggestions that the brawl was sparked by a grand final sledge.
“To be fair, it was a lot of banter. The one (quote) that’s got out is completely false,” he said.
“I do want to get that out there. Because that looks bad on characters – that wasn’t said … There was some other hurtful banter that was there.”
The AFL announced on Thursday, they will be looking into the matter further.
“The AFL confirms it is looking into the incident between Steven May and Jake Melksham that transpired on Sunday evening,” the statement read on Thursday evening.
“No matter what the situation or circumstances, violence is never the answer. As professional footballers, as people, we expect better and while the club has taken the matter extremely seriously, the AFL is currently conducting its own investigation.”