Former NRL player Myles Taueli is back in prison, and the assault which landed him there could see his image displayed permanently behind bars in The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
Taueli pleaded guilty to a coward punch which broke a man’s jaw on Christmas Day, 2018, and ended his NRL career before it really began.
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 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 Ben Cousins and Julian O’Neill.
Taueli was on the verge of breaking into the Brisbane Broncos first-grade team before he was found guilty of assault and sent to prison for the second time in his life. He spent five months in jail in 2016 after being found guilty of numerous driving offences, including a drink-driving offence which saw him sacked by the Cronulla Sharks.
Taueli was once picked in the NSW Blues emerging Origin squad, but it now seems like his only chance of playing for NSW would be in a prisons State of Origin team – alongside fellow Rugby League players who have spent time in prison.
Imprisonment, assault, a coward punch and numerous driving offences make an impressive resume for any footballer looking for a place in The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 