Steven May pub drinking incident 'overblown': Melbourne Demons AFL coach
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin is confident Steven May will deliver great things for the club, insisting the under-fire AFL recruit is working hard behind the scenes.
The former Gold Coast skipper fronted his Demons teammates on Tuesday to apologise for breaching the club's policy of not drinking while injured.
Sidelined with a groin injury since round two, May was seen spending Sunday afternoon drinking at a Melbourne bar.
Goodwin on Wednesday said the incident had been blown out of proportion and the club was not going to "crucify" May, who has been dealing with issues in his personal life, for having a couple of quiet beers on the weekend.
May at Dees training AAP
May arrived at the club out of shape, injured his hamstring during the pre-season, missed round one through suspension then injured his groin.
His latest setback prompted former Demons coach Paul Roos to suggest he was not making football a priority.
But Goodwin staunchly defended his star recruit, saying the 27-year-old had worked hard on his conditioning and was being unfairly maligned.
"He knows it's not the right thing to do but in saying that, it's not a big issue," Goodwin told reporters.
"I think it's gone way over the top in terms of the (coverage).
"Steven's obviously frustrated he's not playing but he's doing a lot of work internally around the footy club to be a really good player ... and that's probably getting missed.
"We've got an incredible amount of support and belief in Steven and I'm really confident that when we get him back, he's going to play some outstanding footy."
Steven May was caught drinking while injured AAP
Goodwin said he had been aware of May's personal issues for some time, noting that it had been May's choice to share those issues with his teammates.
May is expected to join the main group in training in a couple of weeks and could resume playing at some level next month.
"No one right now can see where he's at except the people inside (the club)," Goodwin said.
"For guys to be taking photos of guys (off the field) and sending them in to media outlets, I find that a little disturbing ... but that's the world that we live in."
Co-captain Jack Viney trained with the Demons' main group at Casey Fields on Wednesday in a test of his fitness for Saturday's away clash with Gold Coast.
Goodwin said the club would trust Viney to judge for himself whether he was ready to return from an injury to the AC joint in his right shoulder.
Ruck-forward Braydon Preuss (shoulder) is available for selection but might return through the VFL.
- AAP
