The Canterbury Bulldogs have lit up the NRL world with a massive effort to win the prize that every Australian-based footballer wants to win, The Frownlow Medal.
The entire club has been criticised from every angle during the week after the antics of its Mad Monday celebrations, especially the actions of Adam Elliott, Asipeli Fine, Marcelo Montoya and Zac Woolford.
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 Shaun Kenny-Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015 before Corey Norman in 2016 and Tim Simona in 2017.
The Bulldogs finished 12th on the ladder in 2018 and it’s now clear that they were saving themselves for Australia’s most prestigious inter-code award.
Elliott and Fine led the charge with nominations for getting their gear off in public and having their images splashed all over the front page of a major Sydney newspaper. Both received fines of $25,000 from the Bulldogs and will face court on charges including obscene exposure.
Montoya and Woolford earned nominations for offensive conduct during the end of season party at a bar in Sydney and were fined a lesser amount.
The media reports of the Mad Monday scandal suggest the players pulled together, and that team spirit has paid off with four nominations. The question now is whether the actions of the players are enough to win The Frownlow Medal.
To find out more about their opposition for the 2018 award, go to http://www.instagram.com/thefrownlowmedal.
Image:Nuna
The Frownlow Medal 