Jordan Lewis has denied Melbourne have a discipline problem after Tom Bugg's six-match AFL suspension became the most serious item on the club's rap sheet.
Bugg's ugly behind-play hit on Sydney's Callum Mills was the worst of the Demons' misdemeanours in 2017, joining a host of first-team players who have been banned for lashing out at the opposition.
Lewis (three weeks), Jesse Hogan (two), Bernie Vince (one) and Christian Salem (one) have all served suspensions for striking this season.
Despite admitting their record is getting harder to defend, the veteran Melbourne recruit doesn't believe the Demons are an undisciplined team.
"I know people will have opinions and that's fine. They dress it up nicely and they try and create a massive story about the club," Lewis told Fox Sports' AFL 360.
"It doesn't help when it keeps happening."
Lewis said many sides which played on the edge gave away free kicks for high contact, but that wasn't the case with Melbourne.
"I think we've been OK in terms of free kicks, that has been a positive this year," Lewis said.
"It is the incidents of myself and back to round two (when Hogan was also suspended). They do add up.
"There's something there that we've addressed and we understand that we don't want anyone else to do again."
Aside from the Demons' on-field issues, four players were not considered for AFL selection for Friday's loss to the Swans due to a drinking session after playing in the previous weekend's VFL match.
Lewis said on-field improvement had forced the club to lift its off-field standards.
"Melbourne for a long time have been irrelevant in the competition so they probably could have got away with especially the off-field stuff," Lewis said.
"But now Melbourne are on the rise and starting to play some good football and show a lot of potential.
"We all want to make a stance.
"We know we've got the talent here. We need to make a few changes around our off-field stuff and then we'll get the benefits."
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