Conspiracy theorists have flooded the internet with explanations of the drunken altercation that saw Jacob Saifiti hospitalised and nominated for The Frownlow Medal.
The NRL player broke his leg in the altercation which is alleged to have involved Dane Cordner, the brother of NSW and Australian captain Boyd.
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, while Karmichael Hunt is the most recent recipient.
Saifiti was reported to have been drinking heavily and was kicked out of the pub on the NSW Central Coast before the alleged altercation.
Some theorists suggested that Boyd Cordner himself sent his brother to take out Saifiti in order to protect the Sydney Roosters forwards, who will have to face the Saifiti twins, plus David Klemmer, in 2019.
Other theorists believe that Saifiti was after Boyd. They claim that Saifiti saw an attack on Boyd as a way to weaken the reigning NRL premiers and to force his own way into the NSW State of Origin team, which Boyd captains. Alas, Saifiti identified the wrong brother while peering through his beer goggles.
The final theory suggests that the incident was just two young drunk blokes having a fight.
Regardless of the motivation for the dust up, Saifiti has earned the first nomination for The Frownlow Medal, before the calendar has even ticked over to 2019.
Image: Nuna
The Frownlow Medal 