Steven May played through Melbourne's grand final win with a hamstring injury that would've normally seen him miss up to six weeks, scans have revealed.
May's health was one of the major storylines in the two-week lead-in to the grand final after he pulled up lame during the Demons' preliminary final win over Geelong.
After his side's 74-point win in the grand final, May revealed that he had asked Melbourne's medical staff to not let him know the results of his hamstring scans.
"I think I had a little nick and I think in a normal season, [he would miss] three or four weeks," he said.
"But they didn't want to tell me that, and I settled really well with my symptoms, I trained and I was strong. So I put my hand up to play."
However, a three-to-four week hamstring was aggravated in the second quarter as the Bulldogs gradually started to get on top around the ground.
"I think in the second quarter I went for a groundball and it wasn't great," May told the Seven Network after the match.
"I just thought whatever happens I've just got an hour to get through and I can fix the hammy in the off-season."
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin also touched on the All-Australian defender's condition in the lead-up to the grand final.
"Every step of the way he passed all his tests – all his strength markers, all his stuff was right on track," he told Nine's AFL Sunday Footy Show.
"He trained and didn't miss a beat and in the end you couldn't not pick him."
May finished the grand final with modest numbers of 14 disposals and five marks, but played a key role in holding Bulldogs spearhead Aaron Naughton to just one goal.
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