NRL player Dylan Napa was getting a bit toey. He was keen for some action. He’s put in a few months of pre-season training, the NRL won’t start for a few months and he was getting bored. Meanwhile, many other players were putting their hands up for The Frownlow Medal.
So Napa went and got his own nomination after a website posted an old video of him enjoying some off-field recreation with a young woman. The video spread through the internet and his new club, the Canterbury Bulldogs, was forced to make a statement before Napa has even played a game for them.
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. NRL player Shaun Kenny-Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015 and code-swapper Karmichael Hunt was the most recent recipient.
The Queensland State of Origin player actually earns his third nomination for the prestigious medal. He was nominated in 2016 and 2017, but missed out in 2018, when some of his new Bulldogs teammates earned nominations for getting their gear off and having images splashed all over the media during a Mad Monday celebration.
Napa is hoping that his effort at bonding with his fellow doggies is enough to win him the most prestigious award in Australian sport.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 