Mark of the Year
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Australian Football League celebrates the best mark of the season through the annual Mark of the Year competition. In 2006, this is officially known as the Toyota AFL Mark of the Year.
Alex Jesaulenko's famous mark over Graeme "Jerker" Jenkin in the 1970 Grand Final was the first to be recognised officially as the Mark of the Year; the medal awarded to the winner now bears his name.
During the 1970s and early '80s the award was decided by a panel of football experts on Channel 7's "World of Sport" program. During the 1980s/90s the winning mark was determined by selected football journalists and experts. The current selection process was first used in the 1998 season.
Contents |
[edit] Selection Process
After each round of the regular AFL season, the "mark of the week" nominations are determined by a panel of football experts. The general public can then vote for a weekly winner.
At season's end the weekly winners are scaled down to a final three which football fans vote on to determine the overall winner. The system has been modified slightly in 2006 with experts now voting as well as the fans. These votes are then weighted to determine a weekly winner.
The overall winner is selected from the 25 weekly winners (twenty-two rounds and the first three weeks of the finals) by the AFL All Australian selection committee; the public is not given a say in the final outcome. The winner receives the Alex Jesaulenko Medal, a replica of the perpetual Mark of the Year Trophy, use of a Toyota Aurion for twelve months, and $10,000 for their grass roots football club. The winners are announced on Grand Final day.
The winner of this competition is usually the most spectacular high mark, known as a specky, but occasionally it is awarded to courageous, one handed or diving marks.
The 2006 winner was Brad Ottens of the Geelong Football Club for a spectacular long-hang time chest mark over Darren Jolly in the round-five game against Sydney Swans.
[edit] History of the Mark of the Year
AFL Mark of the Year Winners
| Year | Winner | Team | Round, Ground | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Brad Ottens | Geelong | Geelong vs Sydney. Telstra Stadium | chest mark at hip height in a pack over Darren Jolly who cushioned Ottens' fall causing additional hangtime. |
| 2005 | Luke McPharlin | Fremantle | Fremantle vs West Coast. Subiaco Oval | chest mark at knee height on the shoulders of an opponent in a pack of players |
| 2004 | Ashley Sampi | West Coast Eagles | West Coast vs Melbourne. Melbourne Cricket Ground | chest mark over Paul Wheatley & Adem Yze |
| 2003 | Chris Tarrant | Collingwood | Collingwood vs Geelong. Telstra Dome | chest mark over the pack |
| 2002 | Jonathan Brown | Brisbane | Brisbane vs Hawthorn. Melbourne Cricket Ground | courageous chest mark running with the flight of the ball |
| 2001 | Gary Moorcroft | Essendon | Essendon vs Western Bulldogs. Telstra Dome | overhead mark at full stretch after leaping onto and then springing a further metre into the air off Brad Johnson |
| 2000 | Tony Modra | Fremantle | Fremantle vs Geelong. Subiaco Oval | chest mark over a pack |
| 1999 | Matthew Lappin | Carlton | Carlton vs Essendon. Melbourne Cricket Ground | chest mark over the pack |
| 1998 | Winston Abraham | Kangaroos | Kangaroos vs Port Adelaide. Manuka Oval | overhead mark over opponent/screamer |
| 1997 | Tony Modra | Adelaide | overhead mark / screamer | |
| 1996 | Ben Hart | Adelaide | chest mark / screamer | |
| 1995 | Shaun Smith | Melbourne | Brisbane vs Melbourne. Brisbane Cricket Ground | chest mark over teammate Garry Lyon (since described as "Mark of the Century" ahead of Gary Ablett's 1994 effort) |
| 1994 | Gary Ablett | Geelong | Collingwood vs Geelong. Melbourne Cricket Ground | one-handed juggling mark over Gary Pert (dubbed "Mark of the Century" until Shaun Smith's mark in 1995, debate still rages over whether Ablett had full control of the ball before crashing to the turf) |
| 1993 | Tony Modra | Adelaide | Adelaide vs North Melbourne. Football Park | overhead mark over Ian Fairley of North Melbourne |
| 1992 | Nicky Winmar | West Coast Eagles | West Coast vs St. Kilda | Subiaco Oval |
| 1991 | Brett Allison | North Melbourne | North Melbourne vs Collingwood. Melbourne Cricket Ground | overhead mark over Gavin Crosisca |
| 1990 | Michael Mitchell¹ | Richmond | Richmond vs Fitzroy. Melbourne Cricket Ground | |
| 1989 | Alastair Lynch | Fitzroy | Fitzroy vs North Melbourne. Melbourne Cricket Ground | juggling mark over the pack |
| 1988 | Stephen Silvagni | Carlton | Collingwood vs Carlton. Melbourne Cricket Ground | chest mark with long hangtime over Craig Starcevich |
| 1987 | Warwick Capper | Sydney | ||
| 1986 | Warwick Capper | Sydney | ||
| 1985 | ? | ? | ||
| 1984 | Denis Banks | Collingwood | Footscray vs Collingwood. Western Oval | courageous overhead mark running with the flight of the ball |
| 1983 | Ken Hunter | Carlton | Carlton vs ?. Princes Park | courageous overhead mark running into a pack with the flight of the ball |
| 1982 | ? | ? | ||
| 1981 | Peter Bosustow¹ | Carlton | Carlton vs Geelong. Princes Park | chestmark over the pack |
| 1980 | Graham Teasdale | South Melbourne | ||
| 1979 | Michael Roach | Richmond | Richmond vs Hawthorn. Melbourne Cricket Ground | chest mark over Kelvin Moore & Terry Moore |
| 1978 | ? | ? | ||
| 1977 | Peter Knights | Hawthorn | Collingwood vs Hawthorn. Princes Park | chest mark over the pack |
| 1976 | Billy Picken | Collingwood | Collingwood vs St. Kilda. Victoria Park | overhead mark / screamer |
| 1975 | ? | ? | ||
| 1974 | ? | ? | ||
| 1973 | ? | ? | ||
| 1972 | ? | ? | ||
| 1971 | ? | ? | ||
| 1970 | Alex Jesaulenko | Carlton | Carlton vs Collingwood. Melbourne Cricket Ground | overhead mark over Graeme Jenkin |
¹ Player also won Goal of the Year for the same year
[edit] Trivia
Many of the best marks in the VFL/AFL were featured in a VHS/DVD named Miracle Marks.
The Victorian Football League also runs in conjunction, but only selected from the few games that are televised each year on ABC2.
Many other amateur Australian rules football leagues also run an equivalent competition, however they often rely on less comprehensive television footbage, and some amateur leagues rely on spectators submitting photos and amateur video recordings to the league.
