The Canterbury Bulldogs club is hindering Adam Elliott‘s chances of winning The Frownlow Medal after promising the player assistance for issues with alcohol.
Alcohol abuse is behind most of the nominations for The Frownlow Medal, including Elliott’s first nomination. In 2018, he was caught on camera drunk and naked dancing on a table at a public bar during the Bulldogs’ Mad Monday celebrations. Images of Elliott and a number of teammates were splashed across the front page of numerous newspapers and all of the players were punished by the NRL and nominated for Frownlow honours.
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, while AFL player Elijah Taylor is the most recent recipient.
Elliott narrowly missed another nomination last month when he was involved in a love triangle with former teammate Michael Lichaa. The NRL decided Elliott had no case to answer and he remains out of contention for the Frownlow this year.
Without abusing alcohol, how is Elliott supposed to win The Frownlow Medal?
There are other ways. He could sexually or physically assault a woman. He could urinate into his own mouth or onto a police car. He could simulate sex with a dog, take illicit drugs, slap a taxi driver or poo in a shoe – but he is unlikely to do any of this if he is not drunk.
The NRL is determined to win back the award in 2021 after the AFL stole it in 2020. Have the Bulldogs harmed the chances of the NRL reclaiming what they believe is rightly theirs?
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 