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Nathan Jones says Tom Bugg has burnt trust with the Demons following Callum Mills hit

Ronny Lerner

Melbourne midfielder Tom Bugg has "burnt a fair bit of trust" within the club following his crude off-the-ball hit on Sydney defender Callum Mills, according to Demons co-captain Nathan Jones.

Bugg has been referred directly to the tribunal for his sickening punch to the unsuspecting Mills which saw the reigning Rising Star miss virtually the entire match on Friday night at the MCG.

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Tomas Bugg reported for striking

The AFL Tribunal will be required for the second time in two weeks, this time to consider Melbourne midfielder Tomas Bugg's charge of striking Sydney's Callum Mills.

The former Giant is set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines and Jones said he was "in shock" when he saw the incident for the first time.

"I didn't find it funny at all, I initially thought that he's in a lot of strife," Jones told RSN radio on Tuesday.

"Obviously it's not something we stand for as a footy club, it's a really terrible look for the game.

"I know Tommy is really remorseful and he's probably burnt a fair bit of trust with the playing group and the coaching group, but in saying that we'll help him through and give him all the support he needs and educate him as much we can and he'll be looking at a fair stint on sidelines and he's got a lot of work to do in that regard."

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Jones said Bugg was "embarrassed" by his actions and disappointed with himself that he is now being portrayed as an on-field thug.

"There is no defending what he did," Jones said.

"Obviously he doesn't feel the best right now but we get around him obviously. We care about him and support him and he's one of us so as much as he admits and we admit that he's done wrong – there's no covering that up – I guess the No.1 thing now is to get around him."

Melbourne have also drawn some criticism off the field in recent weeks in the social media sphere with Bugg playfully goading Jason Johannisen before their meeting with the Bulldogs on Instagram, and Clayton Oliver on Twitter hitting back at champion cricketer Damien Martyn who suggested the youngster took a dive when West Coast defender Will Schofield made contact with him a few rounds ago.

Jones said those issues had been addressed internally and he stressed that his team wanted to be seen as "humble and respectful".

"Social media is a new beast. We're probably encouraged as a playing group in the media to show personality and show character and be yourself but if you step outside that and it doesn't go to plan it's a double-edged sword because you tend to get ripped down on the backside of that – that's the bigger issue really," he said.

"Players have to understand that if they put it out publicly, the perception that that creates is a potential to create a storm which is disappointing because you are unintentionally encouraged to be yourself and we love the characters and the difference in people but it's a really interesting debate.

"It's difficult. Inside a footy club you tend to try and block out the noise and all of those kind of things, but if you bring it all together maybe those perceptions are warranted and it is what we are putting out there as a group in different circumstances.

"I feel like we are a really disciplined young team. We've still got a lot to learn, we're a short way into hopefully a long journey and these instances where we are undisciplined and are still a work in progress and we've got to keep educating our players on what it looks like to perform on the field, to deal with expectation, deal with winning, losing, perception, all these kind of things – it's a work in progress."

The three-time club champion said Melbourne were looking to emulate the ruthless "unsociable Hawks" who dominated the footy landscape for the better part of a decade but conceded it was a delicate balancing act trying not to cross the line.

Melbourne players have been involved in three of the season's more unsavoury incidents with Jordan Lewis, Jesse Hogan and Bugg all guilty of ugly off-the-ball hits on Patrick Cripps, Sam Rowe and Mills respectively.

"We want to play on the edge when we play because we feel like that's a point of difference and that's when we play at our best," Jones said.

"That's probably what we're trying to work towards. It's playing with a healthy confidence and almost bordering on an arrogance when you're playing on the field but win, lose or draw you're humble in victory or defeat and you are respectful of the opposition."

Jones is sidelined with a quad injury and doesn't expect to be available for another four weeks.

However, he said Hogan was a strong chance to line up against Carlton this week after recovering from surgery to remove a testicular tumour while Jeff Garlett and forgotten man Jack Trengove would also come under serious consideration. A cloud still remains over Jack Watts' availability.

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