Melbourne captain Max Gawn has vehemently denied claims that the club misled the public about the injury Jake Melksham sustained in a scuffle with Steven May, but says he’s “embarrassed” by the saga.
May received a one-match ban for his involvement in the scuffle, before it emerged that Melksham would require surgery to clean up an infection in his hand.
Gawn fronted the media on Wednesday and was asked whether the club had misled the public about the details of the altercation, and hit back at the claim.
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“We’re not going to dance around the bush here – he obviously injured it in the altercation with Steven,” he said.
“I don’t think we ever mislead you with that information – we just said it was an altercation.
“Stuff was done and (Melksham has) hurt his hand from it. He’s gone in and got it cleaned out.
“You’re never going to report an injury until you know all the facts.
“We’re not going to come out yesterday and say: ‘We think he’s got a sore hand, we’re not sure’. Today we know he’s got a sore hand. That’s why the injury gets reported as we do.
“It’s the same as (injured Dees big man) Tom McDonald – Tom McDonald, we had a rough idea what was going on but we didn’t really know until yesterday. So Tom McDonald’s injury was reported yesterday.
“We’re not misleading, that’s when the facts were dealt to us.
“There’s a lot more than just seeing a surgeon, there’s X-rays, an MRI, our own club doctors – there’s a lot going on.
“It’s the same if I hurt my knee – I’m going to see different specialists, different surgeons, different doctors to get the right aspect. We could say: ‘Oh, he maybe might have a sore hand’ – that’s just pointless. We’re telling you now he’s got a sore hand.”
The brawl is the second alcohol-related controversy May has had since joining the Demons in 2019, and his skipper expressed his disappointment at the 30-year-old.
“We expect Steve to be able to make decisions himself with the age he’s in and the experience he’s had. It was disappointing,” he said.
“I’m not going to lie, I’ve been embarrassed the last few days. I’ve come out frequently … talking about this stuff about how we talk to each other.
“We’ve had a setback here.
“It’s about how you act from that – Melky calling me pretty much straight away shows where this group’s got to. Obviously we would have loved for this not to happen… but this could be a stepping stone.
“I’ve got no doubt Melky and (May) have worked it out and are working it out. It’s not an overnight thing, they had an altercation, it will probably go on a couple of weeks making sure they mend that friendship.”
Gawn and the Demons will aim to arrest a two-game slide when they face an in-form Collingwood side at the MCG for the annual Queen’s Birthday clash on Monday.