Melbourne will take “no risks” with star defender Steven May after he suffered a second rib injury this season during a loss to the Western Bulldogs which all but ended the Demons’ finals hopes.
May was taken to hospital for scans after leaving the field in the second quarter, following a heavy collision with Bulldogs forward Laitham Vandermeer.
The Melbourne backman had missed one game earlier this year after suffering two rib fractures in a clash with Hawthorn’s Mabior Chol in round 2.
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“He’s got some ribs so we’ll get them looked at,” Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said.
“We’ll just have a good look at where that sits. But, obviously (he’s gone) away to get precautionary scans, check everything, make sure everything’s right with Steve.
“Fingers crossed he’s okay.”
Bulldogs blast Demons in another win | 01:30
Another horror start proved costly for the Demons, with Goodwin left to lament a lack of “grit and determination” from his struggling side.
At quarter-time, Tom Liberatore had three clearances to his name – the same number as the entire Demons side – and the Bulldogs led the count 14-3.
While Melbourne eventually evened up the clearances (37-41) and contested possessions (135-135), it could not contain the Bulldogs’ slick ball movement which generated 65 inside-50s and 41 shots on goal.
“They dominated us around the ball and were able to score way too easily,” Goodwin said.
“So (we’re) incredibly frustrated with how we started the game and in patches we were able to bring that back into the game that we were looking for. But, overall, (we were) just nowhere near the level required to beat a team that’s in very, very, very good form.
“That’s the bottom line. We just weren’t up to that level tonight.”
Bevo all praise for ‘tough’ Bulldogs | 11:01
Jack Viney recorded a season-low 13 disposals and 38 ranking points, but Goodwin denied the gun midfielder was battling injury.
“Not that I’m aware of, no,” he said.
The Demons sent Tom Sparrow to Marcus Bontempelli after quarter-time to try and quell his influence, but the Bulldogs skipper was largely unstoppable as he drove his side to a 51-point win.
“He’s, if not the best, one of the best,” Goodwin said when asked if Bontempelli was the best player in the competition right now.
“Tom held in there for the majority of the night, did a reasonable job, especially in the second half. But he just got away from us. He’s a high-quality player and if you went through all their midfield group right now, you could mount a case to spend some time tagging every single one of them. They’re in that good of form.”