Former NRL player Luke O’Donnell is threatening to knock Ben Cousins off his perch as the master of The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
O’Donnell was recently nominated for the Hall of Fame for a list of incidents that could rival the AFL legend if they are found to be true.
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 Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame honours former players and players who received media attention in previous seasons, for similarly scandalous behaviour, and its inductees include Cousins and Julian O’Neill.
O’Donnell was recently arrested and charged with drug supply after police found cocaine and cash in his car. He will soon face court over this offence but is known to police for many other reasons.
The former Kangaroo is accused of assaulting a female police officer in an alleged domestic violence incident. During the altercation, O’Donnell apparently resisted arrest so violently that numerous police officers had to use a taser to subdue him.
The courts will also hear that police were forced to take out an AVO on behalf of his own father, and that he has been accused of damaging property.
These incidents seem to dwarf the suspension he once copped from the Sydney Roosters for arriving late to training after a night out as well as the other suspensions he served for his aggressive style of play.
Surpassing the off-field achievements of The Walking Disaster is no easy task, but a list of offences including assaulting a female police officer, property damage, resisting arrest, drug supply and threatening his own father certainly stand O’Donnell in good position to be inducted into The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
Image:Nuna
damaged property
The Frownlow Medal 