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Running It Straight: 6pm TuesdaysSchwarz: Let's not forget what Steven May was
SEN • March 3rd, 2026 4:00 pm
Melbourne Demons Hall of Fame inductee David Schwarz has paid tribute to the retiring Steven May, urging the public to remember the player that he was despite ongoing off-field issues.
The 34-year-old started his career as an inaugural Gold Coast Sun, remaining at the club for eight years and co-captaining for two seasons before shifting to the Demons in 2019.
Playing 128 games with Melbourne including the 2021 AFL Premiership, May finishes his career with two All-Australian blazers and a premiership medal as one of the competition’s best key defenders in the modern era.
Battling off-field issues surrounding an alleged incident in Sorrento, May called time on his career on Sunday night after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract with the club.
While he may have regrets as to how it all played out, Schwarz believes the club legend should be proud of his on-field efforts over 15 elite seasons.
“Let’s not forget what he was,” Schwarz told SEN WA Breakfast.
“He was a very, very, very good player, but he had external issues he really battled with.
“I think sometimes we forget the pressure that the players are under, with some of the decisions you make. I just hope he finished his career really happy and he doesn’t have regrets, but I suspect he will have regrets in years to come.
“When you’re an AFL player, you’re in the bubble you lose focus of what you’re there to do. He had all the support in the world but some of his decisions towards the end probably curtailed one or two seasons.
“I think he will have some regrets down the track but that’s not to diminish what he’s been able to achieve. To be a premiership player, to be a wonderful defender and probably one of the highest regarded defenders in the game for a long time.
“I think the way it’s finished he will look back and say, ‘I probably could have finished with a bit more class that I did’, but that’s not saying he wasn’t a great player.
“The last couple of years he will say ‘I could have done a bit more to extend or walk out on my terms rather than for it to end the way it has’.
“He has an issue that he is dealing with, I don’t know if he is in the right or wrong there, but that certainly didn’t help him either.
“(He was a) great player, did a lot for the Melbourne Football Club and a lot for Gold Coast. He should be proud of his career, but I reckon he might have some regrets.”
