Geelong AFL player Joel Selwood has been nominated for The Frownlow Medal after being caught speeding and losing his licence for a month.
The Cats captain was recorded travelling 127km/h in Victoria but claims the speeding offence was the result of a huge misunderstanding.
The Frownlow Medal is awarded to the player whose off-field demeanour epitomises the values of the modern day footballer and draws attention to the status of footballers as role models to young Australians. It covers Australia’s four major football codes; the National Rugby League (NRL), Australian Football League (AFL), the A-League (Football) and Rugby Union’s Super Rugby competition. Kiwi international and Sydney Roosters player Shaun Kenny Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015, while Corey Norman from the Parramatta Eels won in 2016.
“I was desperate to be nominated for the Frownlow Medal,” he revealed.
“Geelong is a mighty club and only Billy Brownless has been nominated; for the Hall of Fame for the ‘Blended Family’ incident last year. So, as captain, I thought I should put my hand up.”
“I asked some of the boys for advice on how to get nominated and they said try speed, yeah, speed will get you nominated for sure. So, after I finished the photo shoot for the Grand Prix promo, I grabbed some of the boys, loaded them in the car and said – let’s go for speed.”
Unfortunately for Selwood, he may have used the wrong type of speed, as a relatively minor driving infraction must compete with other off-field achievements such as drug use, domestic violence, assault, pornography and drink driving.
Sources close to Geelong revealed that Selwood informed the club immediately of his nomination and the club in turn updated its key stakeholders. The club explained that it takes Frownlow Medal nominations very seriously and that fortunately these actions did result in a nomination.
Image:Nuna
First published in February 2017.
The Frownlow Medal 