Andrew McLeod at the 2001 Brownlow Medal
Copyright: Allsport
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Balls and All.....

Time To Act
by Matt Harrington, Radio Sport 927
16 May 2002

With Andrew McLeod, and Jason Akermanis in career-best form an embarrassing situation looms on the horizon for the AFL. Both players are thrilling the crowds in the early rounds, and impressing the media too (both players feature on the leader boards of all the media awards). However, both have already been found guilty by the tribunal making them ineligible for the AFL's best and fairest award, the Brownlow Medal.

Common sense needs to prevail in the AFL ranks regarding medal voting. Both players, who have displayed best on ground performances since their suspensions, should be excluded from Brownlow voting. A rule needs to be implemented excluding players who have already been found guilty by the tribunal from receiving votes. Umpires should ignore their performance, no matter how brilliant when deciding the votes, because they are ineligible to win the prestigious award. This should be the case until the AFL makes a final decision on whether they will scrap the fairest tag of the medal and allow the best player to win, disregarding any indiscretions. But it doesn't, it continues to honour the fairest and best player each season. So while this system remains, guilty players should not poll again during the season. Forget the talk about flooding this should be the first item on the agenda for the rules committee.

Jason Akermanis at the 2001 Brownlow Medal
Copyright: Allsport
Click to enlarge
Who could forget the embarrassment on Robert Harvey's face when he won his first Brownlow Medal after Chris Grant polled more votes, but was ineligible. Grant polled many votes after his one-match suspension, to lead voting by two. The embarrassment for Harvey, the league and even Chris Grant could have been avoided had he been excluded from receiving votes. The year before the Grant fiasco, to a lesser extent, Corey McKernan caused the league to be red-faced, also. McKernan tied with James Hird and Michael Voss at the conclusion of the count. He was suspended in round 6 of that year. It's important not only for the eventual winner that this embarrassment is avoided, but for the poor guy who actually tops the count. The stigma will remain for not only the rest of the player's career, but his life.

The critics may say a player should be recognised for his performances through Brownlow voting, but even if they are excluded from Brownlow voting they will still get the recognition they deserve for a great year through different avenues. The player will still be available for All-Australian selection, AFL Players' Association MVP award and all media awards, as well as their own club championship.

If guilty players were also excluded from polling, it would also take out confusion with betting. Each year the betting pool wagered on the Brownlow grows. If it was known a player couldn't poll votes, punters would have a clearer idea of what to expect. It would give team-mates of suspended player, like Brisbane superstars Michael Voss, Simon Black and Nigel Lappin a greater chance of polling this year with Akermanis out of the running.

It's time for the AFL to act, if not this season surely for the next, to ensure the Medal, and star players aren't tarnished because a simple rule was not implemented. Because if they don't, we could have the winner actually poll less than two, three or even four suspended superstars.

Balls and All.....this month
• The Greatest Show on Earth Matt Harrington, 23 May 2002
• Mind Games Matt Harrington, 23 May 2002
• Racing's New Frontier Matt Harrington, 23 May 2002
• Defining Moment Matt Harrington, 23 May 2002
• The Sleeping Giant Matt Harrington, 23 May 2002
• Unfulfilled Potential Matt Harrington, 21 May 2002
• Time To Act Matt Harrington, 16 May 2002
• Football, Witchcraft and Flying Saucers Matt Harrington, 9 May 2002
• Changing Dimensions Matt Harrington, 3 May 2002