Gold Coast defender Steven May is facing a certain AFL suspension after a brutal bump left Brisbane Lions’ ruckman Stefan Martin unconscious in the second quarter of the QClash.
With Martin chasing a bouncing ball in the centre square, May chose to bump and left the ground to do so, he made forceful contact with Martin’s head.
Martin lay motionless on the floor as the Lions players remonstrated with May, before Martin was stretchered off the field.
The Suns key defender sat out three matches last season following a rough conduct charge from this fixture, after high contact on Lions skipper Tom Rockliff.
Lions coach Justin Leppitsch called for the Match Review Panel to act accordingly to ensure such acts remain a rarity in the game.
Leppitsch pointed out that his Justin Clarke’s career was ended by concussion and said the AFL must protect players from receiving such blows.
“It looked like he overran the ball to do it,” Leppitsch said.
“I’m not here to hang anybody, but it’s up to the Match Review Panel to do their bit on that one. It ticked all the boxes.
“We’ve already lost a player to a career with concussion.
“It’s a very important (issue) in footy and one we’ve got to be very careful that we don’t contribute to it.
Suns coach Rodney Eade conceded it wasn’t a great look and suggested he will give May a dressing down over the incident.
Martin was able to recover enough to watch the match from the bench from midway through the third quarter.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
I agree, I just didn't want to have Lions bias thrown about lol. You would of thought he would of learnt from the Rockliff incident. You just can't run past the ball to bump a player anymore
Samantha
Roar Rookie
Has to go straight to tribunal, anything less is a joke.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
This will be in the 4-6 range. If they grade it probably be 4, if it goes straight to the panel I reckon it's likely to be a 6 weeks.
BigAl
Guest
Ok, if he doesn't have the ball then he should be playing the ball not the man. If you think about it, it's a bit weird that you can't hold the man without the ball but you can bump the man without the ball ! Years ago we didn't know much about brain injuries - and a whole lot of other things
Paul D
Roar Guru
The moral of the story is, if you're going to commit acts of thuggery, do them towards the end of the season when finals are about to start. Quickest way to turn a 4 week holiday into 2 weeks.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
It was a beautiful old-fashioned shirt-front, straight down the middle. But May's shoulder collected Martin's chest and jaw and May's feet left the ground. He deserves a suspension, but I agree with Don Freo - Hodge's assault on Wingard was worse and yet he got barely a rap on the knuckles for nearly turning Chad into a quadraplegic. Inconsistency by the MRP continues to be a raffle.
harry houdini
Roar Rookie
That would be a free - holding the man without the ball, he overran the ball to get at Martin, that is not on anymore. It was a good old fashioned hip and shoulder, years ago he would have been congratulated, now he is berated.
harry houdini
Roar Rookie
Used to be commonplace, can't do em now, he went past the ball, but Martin did not protect himself or perhaps even see him, which i find a bit weird.
BigAl
Guest
This incident is a classic example of why " the bump " will eventually be banned from the game. Could well be replaced with a rule that states when you converge on a player, as May did to Martin you basically have to grab him !
Paul D
Roar Guru
I know I'll sound biased either way, but this needs to be 6 weeks, at a minimum I'd say. They'll probably go 4, up to 5 with his prior, but this needs to feel like a special punishment, because it's one of the ugliest hits I can remember in a long time.
Don Freo
Guest
You can't do that unless you retrospectively give Hodge 7 weeks for what he did to Wingard when he squashed his head against the point post. At least May didn't need props.
jax
Guest
Leppa has got a point about player retirements due to concussion and it's longer term effects on player health. How do you compare a potential early retirement (victim) with a few weeks suspension (aggressor)? If the AFL are serious they need to rub him out for 8 or more weeks and draw a line in the sand. Imagine it happening to one of your most important players. May has recent history, he ran past the ball and he didn't have his eyes on it, he lined Martin up, his feet left the ground, he braced for impact, collected him in the head and knocked him out. It was clearly intentional. It's as cheap a shot as I can recall since Vickery's roundhouse on Cox. I wouldn't complain if they rubbed him out for the entire season in this instance. We can't allow tactics from a bygone era to creep there way back into the game now that we know how serious concussion injuries can be. May needs to be taught a lesson and he needs a long stint on the sidelines so as to give him time to reflect on his actions. It will also give his coach and his teammates a lot more clout when discussing this with him. Throw the book at him.
Samantha
Roar Rookie
Straight to tribunal should be all the MRP says.