Grant Brebner is never a safe bet. The former A League player and coach started his career with one of the world’s biggest clubs but ends it with a betting scandal and a nomination for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame.
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 Talatau Amone 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.
Brebner earned a place in the Manchester United youth system in 1994 and was expected to reach lofty heights. However, he was soon loaned to lesser clubs and eventually found his way to Melbourne Victory in the A League in 2006.
He impressed on debut and in the first few games of his Aussie sojourn, but by 2008 had disgraced himself. He was fined $5000 and banned for four matches after betting on his own club to lose a match of the AFC Champions League against Chonburi of Thailand. So poor was his judgement that he only pocketed $550 from the bets – not great returns for someone who later confessed to being a gambling addict and of losing up to 100,000 British pounds on betting.
Despite the scandal, the Scotsmen was appointed manager of Victory in 2020. This also ended badly, as he was sacked in 2021 after the club was less than victorious.
Who is Brebner tipping to enter The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame in 2024?
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 