Alexia Hamilton and Paige Sheppard should escape punishment for their recent drug bust for one simple reason. The Sydney Swans AFLW players have been suspended after being caught with cocaine in Sydney and have earned nominations for The Frownlow Medal.
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.
Hamilton and Sheppard were found to be in possession of an illicit substance while outside a hotel in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and charged in December 2023. That’s exactly why they should not have been suspended for two games – it happened in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.
Illicit substances are part of the five food groups in the Eastern Suburbs. Illicit substances are considered entre or dessert for wealthy eastern locals. Illicit substances are a staple to the diet of residents and anyone else who wants to party in this affluent coastal region.
It’s a travesty that the two players were suspended.
Taking illicit substances also takes Swans fans back to the glory days. Not the days of gritty, working class South Melbourne, where the bloods were blooded, but the hedonistic glory days of the late Geoffrey Edelsten who championed scantily-clad cheerleaders and the scantily-clad Warwick Capper.
But these are not the glory days. These are the 2020s, and even players taking drugs in the Eastern Suburbs earn nominations for The Frownlow Medal.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 