Richmond coach Adem Yze insists Dion Prestia was not involved in a brawl at a coastal town, but the incident has been used as a warning to teammates.
Prestia and Melbourne’s Steven May have been charged with criminal offences, after an incident on Point Nepean Road in Sorrento on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
Premiership Tiger Dion Prestia wanted the charges against him withdrawn, but has been booked to appear in court later this month.Credit: AFL Photos
Police have alleged two groups were involved in an altercation about 2am on December 27, 2024, with two men taken to hospital with injuries.
Prestia and May have consistently maintained they were not involved in the fight. Speaking on SEN on Monday, Yze declared he was at ease with where the case stood.
“Yeah, no doubt,” Yze said when asked if he was comfortable with the information Prestia, 33, had shared with him.
“Yeah, we understand where all that is, and I think, right now, it’s just time. We are really clear on his non-involvement in that but, like I said, it’s before the courts, and we can’t really say a lot about it.”
Asked if he was confident Prestia, a three-time premiership star, was not involved in the altercation, Yze replied: “No doubt.”
Prestia has been charged on summons with recklessly causing serious injury, intentionally causing injury and affray. May has been charged on summons with affray.
Steven May has been a defensive pillar for Melbourne.Credit: AFL Photos
In a hearing at Dromana Magistrates Court last week, the prosecution laid out the police case with allegations that May was at the centre of the original spat between the two parties when he allegedly “put his arm around” a woman with her boyfriend nearby, News Corp reported.
After a year when the Tigers had to deal with an incident with defender Noah Balta who avoided jail but was handed a curfew after he assaulted a man in a New South Wales carpark, Yze said it had been a challenging time.
“No doubt, and we have a really young list that are influenced by those sorts of things. I was really open with the way we went about that,” Yze said.
“Me, being a senior coach, it is exactly the same thing – you understand that the spotlight is on, and you are playing AFL footy and there is a lot of media around.”
Yze said his players needed to understand their responsibilities when in public.
“So, if you feel like you are going to do what you can do at a nightclub, or walk through ‘Chaddy’ (Chadstone Shopping Centre), and feel like you can put a hoodie on, and put a hat on and hide, you are kidding yourself,” Yze said.
“I spoke to the boys, you may as well be going out to a pub in Richmond, with your footy boots on, your socks on, your full kit on, because that is what it’s like. You can’t hide. We would love to be able to, but that’s just the life we live in. Be really clear on our expectations – you are wearing our logo, if you are going to do anything that is going to jeopardise that, you are, obviously, going to be punished.”
Prestia and May, who remain charged on summons, will face Frankston Magistrates Court on February 20.
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