Former NRL player Sam Burgess loves The Frownlow Medal so much that he earned yet another nomination for the hall of fame despite already being inducted. Some would argue he loves the Frownlow more than his ex-wife, with whom he split acrimoniously in 2019.
Burgess was inducted in 2020, but recently got himself arrested after allegedly failing a drug test while driving.
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 NRL star Jarryd Hayne is 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.
Burgess was stopped in Sydney for a roadside test and taken to a police station after allegedly testing positive for an illicit substance. He underwent secondary testing and must appear in court in early 2023 for driving unregistered. The rampaging forward said he had “not consumed, obtained, or possessed any illicit drugs”
The England and Rabbitohs star has now been nominated for the medal or the hall of fame in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. One nomination stemmed from a series of ugly incidents involving his ex-wife and her family, while his first bid for the medal came in 2016, for a driving offence.
He also snuck in his latest nomination just before judges make their decision on who will be inducted in 2022. Smart.
Induction is not guaranteed, but he is definitely invited to the awards night for The Frownlow Medal and The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
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The Frownlow Medal 