AFL player Brayden Crossley is furious that it has taken so long for judges of The Frownlow Medal to nominate him for the prestigious award, after he allegedly tested positive to illicit drugs.
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.
Reports of Crossley’s alleged drug use surfaced days ago, but he has only just been nominated for Frownlow honours.
“Why did it take so long?” he asked.
“I put my hand up for a nomination, for an award that is super popular and super hard to win, and it takes them this long to nominate me. Is it because I don’t play NRL? I know they always nominate NRL players,” he continued.
“I need this award, because let’s face it, I might not have an AFL career soon. Someone needed to act faster and nominate me – to give me a fair chance of winning.”
The Gold Coast Suns player allegedly tested positive to cocaine on the day of a lower-grade match in which he played. If he is found guilty, he could be banned from AFL for up to four years.
The young ruckman will find out in a few months is he has done enough to win the most prestigious award in Australian sport.
Image:NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 