AFL season is underway, so Jordan De Goey has earned another nomination for The Frownlow Medal. De Goey and teammate Jeremy Howe were caught holding a mobile phone in their dressing room recently and earned Frownlow nominations and a massive fine for the Collingwood Magpies.
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.
De Goey is a serial nominee for Frownlow honours. He has already been nominated in 2021, and attracted the attention of judges in 2017, 2018 and 2020. No one knows why he failed in 2019. Howe, meanwhile, earns his first nomination for the most prestigious prize in Australian sport.
The Magpies players were caught using their mobile phones in the dressing room during a game against the West Coast Eagles, and Collingwood was fined a total of $20,000. Players are strictly prohibited from using any kind of communication device during a game. Both players had come off injured before the end of the game and accessed their phones, which were supposed to be in a locked case.
Despite the fact that both players know the rules, they decided to use their phones. Despite the fact that both players knew there were cameras in the dressing rooms, and despite the fact that both players are fully-grown adults with experience in the AFL, the club will pay the fine. Collingwood took responsibility for not securing the phones, and absolved the players of any blame.
De Goey, meanwhile, explained his reasons for using the phone.
“I had to call Frownlow judges,” he said.
“Me and Jez want that medal. We’re sick of seeing it go to NRL players, and we were stoked when an AFL player won it last year. We need to keep it in the family, so we took out our phones, in front of the cameras, then called the judges to remind them that we deserve a medal. I’ve been nominated five times in five years, so I deserve more than just another nomination. Come on, it’s about time I won.”
Will this year be Jordan’s year?
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 