Melbourne premiership defender Steven May has confirmed his hamstring “wasn’t great” in the second half of the Demons’ AFL Grand Final win and that he was “all heart” in playing out the match.
May tweaked his hamstring early in the club’s Preliminary Final with Geelong two weeks ago, however returned to play out that match.
He was declared fit to play the Grand Final, but Channel 7 analyst Daisy Pearce noted in the second term that May didn’t appear to be moving at his best.
The All-Australian defender revealed that he had hurt his hamstring during that quarter.
“In the second quarter I went for a ground ball and it wasn’t great,” May told Channel 7 post-game.
“I just thought I’ve got an hour to get through and I can fix the hammy in the off-season. I was glad I was able to still not be a liability out there, able to still try and have some sort of influence.
“It was all heart really... I’ll deal with this in the next few days.”
Bachar Houli famously hurt his calf in last year’s AFL Grand Final but played out the match, not able to return to Richmond’s AFL side until round four after ongoing complications.
May could face a lengthy rehabilitation on the sidelines, but his part in the 74-point triumph will certainly be worth it.
He contributed with 14 disposals and managed to keep dangerous Dogs forward Aaron Naughton to just one goal.