Grand Final Norm Smith Medal Voting Panel Locked In For 2023 Decider
Eddie McGuire's statements this week about who should and who shouldn't vote for the Norm Smith Medal prompted a number of people to raise their eyebrows. Will the panel in 2023 satisfy his expectations?
The Australian Football League (AFL) has announced the members of the Norm Smith medal voting panel for Saturday's grand final. Luke Darcy, a former player for the Western Bulldogs who is now a commentator, will lead the panel, which is considered to be one of the jobs with the most pressure in the sport.
The voting panel will consist of triple All-Australian Eddie Betts, premiership-winning former Swan Jude Bolton, AFL writer Sarah Olle, and 2018 Norm Smith winner and retiring West Coast skipper Luke Shuey. Darcy will act as the chair of the voting panel, which will be chaired by Darcy.
In the waning minutes of the match, each voter will have the opportunity to have their vote counted and will be asked to provide a 3-2-1 ranking of the player they consider to have been the best player on the field. In the event of a deadlock, Darcy's vote will be utilized to determine the winner.
Betts participated in the 2017 AFL Grand Final against Richmond and played a total of 350 games during his AFL career, 132 of which were played with Adelaide and the remaining 218 split between two stints at Carlton.
While Olle has worked as a journalist and presenter at Fox Footy prior to her current employment at the AFL website and SEN, Bolton won two premierships during his 325-game career with Sydney. Bolton played all of his games for Sydney.
A few short weeks ago, 33-year-old Shuey made the announcement that he was retiring from the AFL. This week, he flew to Melbourne. Before the game, he will participate in the farewell motorcade and then devote his attention to the voting process.
In accordance with the AFL's rules regarding the integrity of medal voting, the panel is not allowed to confer with any other individuals regarding voting, nor are they permitted to use their mobile phones while the match is in progress.
Nick Daicos, a Collingwood midfielder, is presently considered to be the favorite by bookmaker TAB at a price of $5. He is followed by teammate Jordan De Goey and Lions Brownlow medalist Lachie Neale, both of whom are priced at $7.
The panel's legitimacy, however, hinges on whether or not it has the blessing of Eddie McGuire, a former president of Collingwood.
This week, McGuire's comments about the composition of voting panels raised eyebrows in the industry after he suggested a "panel of elders" rather than panels with members of the media choose the winners of major awards like the Norm Smith.
He made this comment with 2011 Norm Smith and 2007 Brownlow winner Jimmy Bartel on their podcast, Eddie and Jimmy. "We're now getting people voting on the Anzac Day Medal who are people in the media that I've never heard of," he added.
We need a woman, and we need this, and we need that.
Now that female footballers exist, it should be easy to assemble a strong panel to decide who will receive the Anzac Day Medal.
Even though I work in the media, I agree that we are focusing too narrowly: "I wouldn't have the media in any of these."