Melbourne Demons star in for surgery after fight with teammate

Melbourne Demons star Jake Melksham has had to undergo a procedure on his hand to resolve an infection that developed as a result of his fight with teammate Steven May.

May was suspended for one game as a result of the altercation, which happened shortly after a team dinner on Sunday night, while Melksham is subsequently unavailable for selection due to the procedure.

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The reigning premiers have been left disappointed over the incident, with May suspended because he had been drinking while under the AFL's concussion protocols.

The fight between the pair was reportedly sparked after May told Melksham, who was an emergency in last year's grand final win over the Western Bulldogs, that “If you had have played in the granny we would have lost.”

Melksham reportedly punched May in response, with the brawl between the pair causing damage to the venue the team was at - leaving the owners furious.

"Jake performed really strongly at VFL level last weekend and it's disappointing to not have him available for selection this week," Melbourne football boss Alan Richardson said in a statement.

"What is more disappointing is that the injury keeping him out of the frame for selection is a result of the altercation Jake was involved in on Sunday evening.

"As a footy club we are deeply embarrassed by the events of Sunday and Jake and Steven understand that they have let our club, their teammates and our members down.

"I want to make it very clear that as a club, we do not condone violence of any manner, and the fact that our players allowed any disagreement to escalate to a physical level is completely unacceptable."

On Tuesday, May lamented his "bad error of judgement" and said he'd have to prove himself to his teammates again.

The star defender was concussed in a collision with teammate Jake Lever during the first quarter in the loss to Fremantle in round 11 and he was sorely missed in the back-line as the Demons went down to Sydney last week.

Demons left embarrassed by Steven May altercation

The pair reportedly broke the venue's reception desk, and the venue has since lashed out at the apology given by May and the club, labelling it 'weak' and saying what had happened between the two players was 'far from a scuffle'.

"Thanks for your lukewarm apology that is tantamount to ‘boys will be boys’," the venue wrote on Instagram.

In a statement on Monday, Richardson described what had happened as a 'light-hearted disagreement' which 'escalated'.

May apologised to Demons fans in a video posted by the club on Monday night, saying he was 'deeply apologetic'.

“Just extremely disappointed. I know I’ve let a lot of people down, especially myself and the footy club, through uncharacteristic actions,” he said.

“I’ve done a lot of work to try and build respect and trust at the footy club, and I’m disappointed these actions don’t reflect that.

“Just a bad mistake, a bad error of judgement, unfortunately has consequences.”

Melbourne have desperately missed star defender May, but said they needed to stick to their standards.

"Over the past three years, Steven has developed into one of our most important on-field leaders, and while the impact of not having him available for selection is significant, what is more significant to us is our culture and the commitment we have to live by our values," Richardson said.

"Steven is extremely remorseful and accepts his actions were completely out of step with the expectations the club and his teammates have of him.

"He accepts the sanction handed down and makes no excuse for his poor judgement."

With AAP

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