One text changed the life of Jaeman Salmon forever. The text was so significant that it completely consumed the young NRL player. It captivated Salmon only temporarily, but long enough to have a dramatic and lasting impact of the career of the Parramatta Eels player.
The text came from the judges of The Frownlow Medal. It informed Salmon that he had been nominated for the most prestigious award in Australian sport.
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.
Salmon earned his nomination after being found guilty of low-range drink driving and crashing into another car while looking at his phone. Reports indicate that Salmon was driving while over the legal limit, and that he hit three cars before flipping his own car because he had looked at his mobile phone while driving.
As a result, he was fined $10,000 and stood down from the first NRL game of the season, as well as earning a nomination for The Frownlow Medal.
Salmon faces tough opposition in winning the prestigious medal in 2019, including from previous medallist Cory Norman, who Salmon replaced at Parramatta. He must also defeat numerous alleged wife-beaters, brawlers, porn stars, drunks, taxi slappers and fellow drunk drivers.
Image:NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 