Grand Final medals

[Noz]

Seeing Tom Murphy get dropped at the selection table for grand final week for the second time (2008 was the first) it got me thinking about guys in the past who have sacrificed there position due to injury or have been dropped for returning players coming back into the team.

Mark Blake - Dropped
Simon Prestigicamo - Injured
Ben McGlynn - Injured
Brendan Whitecross - Injured
Brent Guerra - Injured

These are just the first couple of names in recent years that have come to mind straight away i could go on naming names for a while as many guys have been heartbroken by not playing in a grand final and possible winning a medal.

So it got me thinking that the AFL should make a rule that if you play X amount of games for your club and that club wins the grand final you receive a grand final medal regardless if your playing in the grand final or not, Now I'm not saying everyone to put on a jumper should be eligible but say you play 15 games and tragedy strikes (I.E Injury/Suspension) it would be heartbreaking to see someone step into your position and come grand final day be rewarded with a medal.

Playing football i was blessed to have been apart of 2 grand final wins one being 2 years ago and it really is the greatest thing that could happen to a footballer who knows when your next chance may be you may never get another chance to represent your club on grand final day.

Thoughts?

[BB67th]

While I like the concept I think that in a way it is being unfair to the player who you are giving the medal to. At the end of the day it is just you feeling sorry for them not being there in the end. I remember seeing a doco about last year's grand final and Cam Mooney spoke about being dropped for the finals series. He described not playing as a horrible feeling and deep down he just knew he wasn't a part of it. I don't think giving someone a medal makes them all of a sudden a part of it. Anyway that is just my view, the 22 on the day get the medals, not the almosts and the maybes.

[kilbluff1985]

i agree giving a medal to a player wont make them feel any better

and also if a player misses out due to suspension they don't deserve a medal imo it's there own fault

[Ziplock]

I really think that if a player plays more than 16 games they should be getting the medal as well- they were clearly integral in their teams success over the series. Just saying, a medal is a recognition of their contribution to the cup, whether it came through the season or in their one game in the final.

[ossie85]

"gold" Premiership medals for the 22 + Coach

"silver" Premiership medals for players who played a game that year + Assistant Coaches

"bronze" Premiership medals for listed players + other staff and significant members

?

[roo boys!]

Interesting idea Oss!

I'm not a big fan, as I believe as soon as you start introducing different categories of medals all for the same club it brings in a bit of division and IMO a premiership medal is a premiership medal, and those who miss the grand final but contribute throughout the season shouldn't receive a medal, may sound harsh because they have contributed to the cup but if the weren't playing on the big stage then they shouldn't get the reward for doing so. It's just horrible luck to them :(

[Ricochet]

its a nice idea but really don't think the players would want a medal if they didn't play... it just wouldnt be the same

[Toga]

yeah i kind of agree that it is a bit unfair and heartbreaking for someone to be dropped like that on the eve of grand final....

in the olympics i found it interesting that the relay swim teams (and i think athletics teams) used a number of different athletes in the heats compared to who swum in the finals. what they do is they swim decent swimmers in the heats (if they are all but guaranteed to win) and then swim the 'big guns' in the finals so that they save energy etc... But at the end of the day, say if the superstar australian team wins in the finals of the 4x100 freestyle, everyone who swam in the heats/semis of that event gets a gold medal for it...

so going by that train of thought, maybe it wouldn't be too bad an idea for people like murphy to recieve a premiership medal in the end... but at the same time you want the medals to be something special, the BEST thing that can happen to you in you AFL career, so you don't want every man and his dog receiving one. I think Ossie's idea, while interesting would take away some of the value of receiving a premiership medal so (no offense) I'm not a big fan of it

It's a tough situation - it would be heartbreaking to miss out on a medal due to being dropped/injured, but at the same time you want to keep them special....

...so maybe if you played in any of the finals or something, then you get one?