Former NRL player Justin Horo offered a rolled up bill to judges of The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame, but it is unclear whether the gift was money or cocaine – or both.

Horo is desperate to be inducted into the hall of fame alongside some of the greats of Australian sport, or at least determined to be invited to the Frownlow after party later this year. He earned his nomination after being caught with cocaine inside a rolled up $100 note at a Sydney bar in 2021.

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.

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.

Horo pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited drug at the Golden Sheaf Hotel in Sydney and was given a 12-month conditional release order and avoided conviction. He was apparently lining up for the toilets when police approached him and demanded he empty his pockets. They then found cocaine on him.

Immediately after the ruling, he posted a bizarre message on social media. He also claimed he took the drugs to sober himself up because he’d been drinking all day.

Horo is welcome to consume as many drugs as he wants at the Frownlow awards after party, via a rolled up note or any other apparatus he chooses. He can do so in the toilets, lining up for the toilets or nowhere near the toilets, and can post images of himself in all sorts of compromising positions alongside Australia’s greatest role models – professional footballers.

Image: NuNa