List boss Tim Lamb has rejected suggestions Melbourne have underperformed following Steven May's declaration they should have "smoked" premiers Collingwood during the AFL finals.
May raised eyebrows at the Demons' best-and-fairest event last week when he claimed they were a better team than the Magpies this year.
The All-Australian's comments came after Melbourne exited the finals in straight sets for a second consecutive season, with narrow losses to Collingwood (seven points) and Carlton (two points).
"I don't want to talk about them constantly, but we lose to Collingwood and they go on to win the flag, and it f***ing hurts because we're a better team than them," May said last Friday night.
"We should have smoked them and to sit there on grand final day and watch them hoist the cup and get the medals ... I am sitting there going, 'Gee our team's so much better than these guys'.
"We should've been out there, but we weren't."
Collingwood list boss Graham Wright was surprised by May's comments when quizzed about them on Monday.
"I didn't know he said that, but that's interesting," a smiling Wright told reporters.
Melbourne list manager Lamb defended May, declaring the backman "a passionate, competitive guy who's still obviously really disappointed with what transpired in September".
Lamb denied the Demons had underperformed with a talented list, which has a horror 0-4 finals record since the breakthrough 2021 premiership.
"Underperformed is a strong word," he said. "It's almost a little bit disrespectful to the rest of the competition.
"There's a lot of good teams. It's really, really even.
"Are we striving to win the flag? A hundred per cent, but it doesn't mean you're going to do it every year."
May has made a full recovery after spending last Saturday night in hospital as a result of an allergic food reaction.
