3 minute read

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin says the reigning premiers won't be defined by the restaurant fight between Steven May and Jake Melksham.

Coach Simon Goodwin is adamant Melbourne won't be derailed by their tumultuous week off the field as the fallout continues from Steven May and Jake Melksham's alcohol-fuelled restaurant fight.

The reigning premiers were left deeply embarrassed by Sunday night's fight in Prahran, where May and Melksham brawled after drinking alcohol at a dinner with teammates.

On Friday, Goodwin followed skipper Max Gawn and footy boss Alan Richardson in calling the incident "embarrassing".

The fight is now being investigated by the AFL and has overshadowed the build-up to the Queen's Birthday blockbuster against Collingwood, when Melbourne will attempt to snap a two-game losing run.

Goodwin stressed there was "no divide" between players who'd won last year's breakthrough grand final and those who'd missed out and was confident Melbourne's culture could withstand the incident.

"It's been a great chance to reset ourselves as a playing group internally about what we really want to stand for and continually stand for, and use this as a lesson to get better," he said.

"We don't tolerate violence one iota but this incident isn't going to define our playing group.

"They're united. They're committed to the cause. They know they've made a mistake and we'll learn from it and get better and move forward.

"Hopefully in time people will see this as a real galvanising time for us where we've come together as one and continued our pathway forward to what we want to achieve."

May received a club-imposed suspension for Monday's game for drinking alcohol while in concussion protocols while both he and Melksham were handed community service.

Goodwin wouldn't be drawn on whether May, who previously avoided a club sanction for drinking while injured in 2019, would face an alcohol ban.

Calling May a "quality person" who had made a mistake, Goodwin stressed the defender would have to rebuild his teammates' trust.

"He's got great standing within our playing group, and he'll continue to do that," he said.

"He knows that he's let them down and he's broken some trust within the playing group, and he'll work hard to build that back up.

"But knowing the character of Steven, he'll go about that in the right way.

"We'll work with Steven around his personal situation, it's certainly not something for the public domain."

Melksham on Thursday required a second surgery on the infected hand he hurt in the fight and is unavailable for selection.

"He's got a pretty bad infection. So he's had it washed out once under surgery and he had it again yesterday," Goodwin said.

"It is a serious infection and one we need to get on top of."

Meanwhile AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan flagged the league could hand down further penalties to May and Melksham if it saw fit.

"More information has come to hand than earlier in the week and that's why they're having a look at it," he told 3AW.

"Our integrity unit work in partnership with the clubs and I think sometimes there's differing views about what the consequences should be."