Wests Tigers player Tim Simona placed a lazy $20 on himself to win the 2016 Frownlow Medal after he was found guilty of betting on Rugby League games in which he was playing.
Simona had a little flutter on various results in NRL games during previous seasons and has been suspended while the NRL investigates the matter.
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. Kiwi international and Sydney Roosters player Shaun Kenny Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015, while Corey Norman from the Parramatta Eels won in 2016.
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 Todd Carney.
Already this year, multiple players have been nominated alongside Simona, for offences involving drunkenness, drug possession and domestic violence. So, if The NRL kicks Simona out of the game for ever, he could always run a book on who will take out the 2017 Frownlow Medal, which is shaping as harder to win than The Melbourne Cup.
Image: Nuna
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