Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has confirmed he has addressed the on-field verbal exchange between Steven May and Max Gawn post the final siren of the Demons' clash with Collingwood in the King's Birthday clash.
The moment occurred as Collingwood rejoiced in a one-point victory over the Demons following a shanked kick across the face of goal by Gawn, who was attempting to roll the dice in the final 30 seconds of the game to allow Melbourne to steal the win.
May approached Gawn, evidently frustrated or questioning the decision by Gawn, resulting in the seven-time All-Australian ruckman pushing May away.
The incident was caught on broadcast vision, sparking debate about May and Gawn's exchange, which the Demons skipper and coach would both downplay post-game.
"Max is the captain, you can't question him"
Max Gawn and Steven May exchanged some words after a late clanger.
โ๏ธ BLOG https://t.co/LPviYTHZ6H
๐ข MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/2WGQN4zQDx pic.twitter.com/MATrIU5ass— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) June 9, 2025
Speaking to media on Friday, Goodwin shared how the Demons addressed the post-game incident, with the moment coming up in the game review to preach on-field standards.
"They had a chat themselves, but I sat them down and I've also addressed it with the group," Goodwin said.
"Clearly, we don't want that look on-field, but we also understand we play an emotional game and we've got two passionate guys that love winning and love their footy club.
"But we also understand that's not the look that we want on-field, so we addressed it. We keep moving forward, we don't make a huge issue of it. We address things and we keep going forward."
Asked as to whether the clash between teammates still lingered, Goodwin was quick to shut down any assumption of the kind, stating the situation was completely resolved.
"100 per cent (it's all resolved). They get on incredibly well, Max and Steven, and they understand and have enormous respect for one another," Goodwin said.
"They do an enormous amount for our footy club, and we love what they bring to our footy club. They know they didn't get it quite right on the day, but they're incredibly close."
Attention now turns to a trip to South Australia for a match against Port Adelaide, with a loss for either side to significantly impact a smokey chance at finals.
Goodwin didn't deny a tag could be used against star midfielders Zak Butters or Connor Rozee after Ed Langdon's physical display on Nick Daicos on Monday, but noted the role may not be for the gut-running winger this week.
"We were really happy with how Ed played, it was outstanding, but one thing we've been able to do is use multiple different players in that role," Goodwin said.
"What we now know is that we've got Ed Langdon that can do it, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney, Trent Rivers can all perform a role, so we'll go away in the next couple of days and work out what's best for our team this week.
"But we've added another layer to our personnel that can do certain things for the team."
