The Anzac Day medal is a extremely prestigious and wanted piece of {hardware} for Collingwood and Essendon gamers.
In what’s the greatest sport on the AFL calendar outdoors of the Grand Final, followers pack out the MCG as hundreds extra tune in throughout the nation.
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The Pies and Bombers have locked horns 27 instances on Anzac Day with Collingwood holding the 16-10 benefit, profitable three of the previous 4 contests.
But it’s the medal simply as a lot as the end result that captures the eye of the footy devoted watching on.
The contest provides gamers a possibility to show their greatest on the most important stage of all and to affix an unique record of star expertise.
Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury sits atop the Anzac Day medal leaderboard with Essendon legend James Hird, each have received the {hardware} thrice.
Only as soon as within the historical past of the highly-anciticpated contests has a participant on the dropping group been known as to the rostrum because the winner.
Collingwood’s Chris Tarrant stays the one participant, reaching the uncommon feat again in 2001 when the Bombers received by eight factors.
But followers imagine irrespective of the end result of this years contest, a Collingwood participant would be the one with the medal round their neck.
Outrage kicked into gear on Monday afternoon when the AFL introduced the four-person judging panel for the medal.
The panel consists of Channel 7’s Brian Taylor, the Herald Sun’s Jay Clark, Triple M’s Kate McCarthy and AAP’s Anna Harrington. Taylor has been assigned the chairperson for the panel.
Fans nonetheless had been fast to level that two of the 4 judges robust hyperlinks to Collingwood, leaving many to imagine the Pies had been within the drivers seat for the medal.
One consumer wrote: “So can they just pick the Collingwood player now?”
Another added: “BT? So it’ll be a Pies player then.”
20-year-old celebrity Nick Daicos enters the Tuesday contest because the red-hot favorite to seize his first ever Anzac Day medal.
Daicos has put collectively one of many biggest begins to a season for a second-year participant, with pundits labelling him the early Brownlow Medal frontrunner.
Essendon’s Darcy Parish is the second greatest backed participant with the 2021 winner once more producing a blistering season by way of the center of the bottom.
It’s elder statesman Pendlebury that’s the broadly tipped participant to nab his fourth medal after the judges had been introduced.
Along with being a favorite of commentary groups, he and Clark had a podcast collectively that ran for 68 episodes.
ANZAC DAY MEDAL WINNERS
2022: Jack Ginnivan (Collingwood)
2021: Darcy Parish (Essendon)
2020: N/A
2019: Scott Pendlebury (3) (Collingwood)
2018: Adam Treloar (Collingwood)
2017: Joe Daniher (Essendon)
2016: Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood)
2015: Paul Seedsman (Collingwood)
2014: Dane Swan (2) (Collingwood)
2013: David Zaharakis (Essendon)
2012: Dane Swan (Collingwood)
2011: Scott Pendlebury (2) (Collingwood)
2010: Scott Pendlebury Collingwood
2009: Paddy Ryder Essendon
2008: Paul Medhurst Collingwood
2007: Heath Shaw Collingwood
2006: Ben Johnson Collingwood
2005: Andrew Lovett Essendon
2004: James Hird (3) Essendon
2003: James Hird (2) Essendon
2002: Mark McGough Collingwood
2001: Chris Tarrant (Collingwood)
2000: James Hird (Essendon)
Source: www.news.com.au
