What May said to Gawn and the Demons skipper’s reaction

What did Steven May say to Max Gawn in Monday’s heated exchange?

The Melbourne defender and captain were seen in a confrontation moments after the final siren of their one-point loss to Collingwood at the MCG.

SEN’s Tom Morris has revealed what May said to spark the reaction from Gawn who pushed his teammate away.

Morris said on SEN Breakfast: “So, what did Steve May say to Max Gawn?

“Steve May said to Max Gawn words to the effect of, ‘Did you only think there was 10 seconds left?’.

“The equivalent for me is if you run yourself out in cricket and you walk off and you’re frustrated, and the first thing someone says to you, ‘Oh, did you think there was a run there?’. Of course you’re going to be tense in that moment.”

Morris also spoke of Gawn’s frustration in the moment, believing he should have been awarded a 50-metre penalty which frazzled him and forced an errant kick across goal which landed in the lap of Will Hoskin-Elliott.

“So, Gawn was frustrated for three reasons,” Morris added.

“First of all he thought that Collingwood players encroached over the mark. As a result he thought it should have been a 50-metre penalty and then he was frustrated himself for butchering it when kicking it in the middle of the ground.

“The timing of Steve May of what he said is more the issue, it was more ill-timed curiosity than anything else.

“Nothing abusive, nothing aggressive and May was trying to clarify, he just wanted to know, which he has conceded to people around him in the time since that it was poorly timed.

“But there was nothing aggressive about it. There's no fracturing of relationships.”

Gawn himself spoke to Channel 7 in the rooms after the devastating loss to explain what occurred between he and premiership teammate May.

“We just both want to win and I'm not exactly sure what actually happened - it was very loud with the crowd and whatnot,” Gawn said.

“But we both want to win and it was a very disappointing last 30 seconds in the way it played out.

“‘Maysy’ just wants to win and he holds us all to high standards. It was too loud for me to even know.

“I didn't realise the cameras were on us but it obviously was caught. Is that play genuinely going to get us a win? It's a pretty tough place to get us a goal.”

Upon reflection, Gawn admitted the way he reacted to May’s words was a bit too strong.

The Demons skipper spoke on Triple M on Tuesday to discuss the incident, suggesting the way he reacted by pushing May turned it into more of a story than it might have been.

“I think it says (a bit about) both of us. We were both extremely disappointed in that last 30 seconds,” Gawn said.

“I thought my reaction was really poor.

“I had a teammate showing care - his version of care, from a long history with Steven May. I know that.

“I'm really agreeable with how strong his feedback and terminology and body language is on-ground because he gets the best out of his team.

“I'm here to defend Steven. He's copped it a little bit in the media over the last 24 hours.

“If he had his time again, he might not do it on the final siren with a camera there. That's both of us throughout the whole game, and unfortunately, that's been caught on camera.

“I make it a bigger thing by pushing him away, and I'm slightly disappointed in how it's played out.”

The Demons, who slumped to a 5-8 record, next meet Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval next Sunday.