AFL world sends outpouring of messages over news about Steven May and partner Sachi
The development comes after a turbulent period for the Melbourne club.
The Melbourne Demons have received some welcome good news with premiership defender Steven May and his partner Sachi Dade celebrating the birth of their first child. The couple took to Instagram to share the first photos of their baby daughter Millie, prompting a flood of messages from around the AFL world.
May and his Demons have experienced a tumultuous year that began with questions around the culture at the club and Clayton Oliver's future and ended with reports Christian Petracca wanted to leave. But after missing out on the finals after a disappointing 14th placed finish this season, May and his parter have plenty to smile about after welcoming their first child together into the world.
The two-time All Australian defender was clearly over the moon to become a father and was pictured in a number of snaps showing the happy couple holding their new bundle of joy. May accompanied the social media pictures with a beautiful message about his baby girl and a shout-out to her mum.
“Welcome to the world Millie May! Your mother and I are so in love with you already!” May wrote. “Your mum never ceases to amaze me, you are a very lucky little girl to have her and I’m so lucky to have you both in my life.” The post sparked an outpouring of messages from around the AFL world, with Demons captain Max Gawn and his wife Jess among those to show their love for the new family.
"Congratulations, she is perfect,” Jess Gawn wrote, while Max simply posted Millie's name with a love heart emoji. Melbourne great and former club captain Nathan Jones added: “Congrats brother! Amazing." Richmond's Tom Lynch and Jordan Ablett were among the list of others to offer their congratulations to May and his partner.
May has been integral to Melbourne's success over the years after establishing himself as one of the top defenders in the AFL since joining the Demons from Gold Coast at the end of 2018. The 32-year-old defender earned the first of his two All Australian honours in 2021 in the same season the Demons won their drought-breaking premiership and was again named amongst the AFL's best the following season.
Steven May news comes after season to forget for Demons
But after finishing in the top four only to be knocked out in straight sets in the AFL finals the previous two years, May's Demons endured a horror slide in 2024. Melbourne was sitting in the top four after round 11 this season only to suffer a worrying slide down the ladder that saw them miss the finals for the first time since 2020.
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Rubbing salt into the wounds for the under-fire Demons has been the uncertainty around Petracca, who had reportedly become disillusioned with the direction of the club in the wake of suffering season-ending injuries. Petracca finally addressed the drama recently to insist he's committed to the Demons, amid calls from "frustrated" Melbourne great Jones for the club to open itself up to an external review.
The Petracca saga was just another issue for Demons hierarchy to deal with, less than 12 months after Oliver's future was clouded due to concerns over off-field issues. Melbourne forward Joel Smith has also been provisionally suspended since last October over a positive cocaine test and former Demons skipper Jones told SEN on Tuesday that he believes an external review at the club would be "worthwhile".
"I've felt frustrated, particularly for the senior players over the last probably 12-to-18 months, just from a PR and narrative point of view," Jones said. "It's been frustrating, and in some ways, let those senior boys down to a certain degree.
"That (an external review) would be worthwhile, if there's nothing to hide, I think it would beneficial, particularly from a public perspective, there's the advantages in doing that. It's nice to see 'Trac' (Petracca) come out and commit, and hopefully even off the back of this ... instigate some change and Melbourne can kind of redirect and start flying straight again and hopefully be back in contention next season."
with AAP
