AFL fans are once again calling for injured players to be given grand final medals after Jarrod Berry missed out on the Brisbane Lions’ triumph on Saturday. Berry played 24 of a possible 26 games this season, but missed the grand final against Geelong after dislocating his shoulder in the prelim.
Berry initially stated he’d be right to play and would simply strap the shoulder up, but made the selfless call during the week to rule himself out. Just like Oscar McInerney last year and Taylor Adams in 2023, Berry missed out on a premiership medal because of a cruel detail in the rules.
Jarrod Berry (back left) with Brisbane Lions teammates after the AFL grand final. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Only players who actually feature in the game on grand final day get a medal, even though someone like Berry was such an important part of the premiership and only missed two games all year. Thankfully for Berry he got a medal last year, which will soften the pain.
But it was particularly cruel to see the midfielder as the only player without a medal around his neck in post-game photos. There have been calls for a number of years for the AFL to change the rule, but it’s so far fallen on deaf ears.
Jarrod Berry (L) doesn’t get a premiership medal despite only missing two games all year. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
On Saturday night, one person wrote on social media: “Jarrod Berry played 24 out of a possible 26 Brisbane Lions games this year and will poll pretty nicely in the club’s best and fairest – yet he doesn’t get a premiership medal? It’s time to make a change.”
Another person responded: “All the effort and pain he went to does deserve a better return. Not right at all. They need to stop this happening again ever.” One fan posted sarcastically: “Congratulations Jarrod Berry, you get… nothing! They need to give out 4 extra medals. And the club give them to the next 4 most played players of that team that year.”
AFL has been urged to change grand final rule for years
Speaking before last year’s grand final, coaches Chris Fagan and John Longmire both said they’d like to see the change. “I think the whole squad should get medals,” Fagan said. “Teams win matches but squads win premierships and all the boys that don’t play contribute just as much.
“So for me I think that makes logical sense. Every player on your list should receive a medal if you are lucky enough to win one.” Swans coach Longmire simply said: “I’m with Fages”.
Collingwood hero Mason Cox said after the 2023 decider: “I would change it in a heartbeat. Without them (injured players) we are not in this situation. To have that happen is f***ing shattering.
“Guys like John Noble and Tay Adams, it is something you wouldn’t wish on the worst person. I don’t know what the ruling would be but it just seems wrong to not have them with a medal.”
Jarrod Berry praised for driving Lions ‘brotherhood’
Speaking after the grand final, Berry said he wouldn’t have forgiven himself if he’d made a selfish call and tried to play, and it cost the Lions. In a remarkable twist, Berry’s omission allowed McInerney to get the medal he missed out on last year.
“I sort of just obviously saw what he did last year and how good he was, and how much energy he was able to contain in the group,” Berry said about McInerney. “It’s a little bit like the precedent has been set there. So, yeah, I would never be able to forgive myself if I went the other way and was dirty and stuff. He (McInerney) is a great role model, he’s a great leader and I just had to follow his lead.”
RELATED:
Fagan paid tribute to the Lions’ “brotherhood” that’s been driven by Berry. “Brotherhood’s a big thing in our club,” the coach said. “A lot of the boys have moved away from home to come and play footy up there (in Brisbane) and they’re a really close group of people.
“Jarrod Berry’s the driver of that, and probably has been since he was only a first- or second-year player. We were sad for him today that he couldn’t play, but we had his jumper hanging up on the doors as we ran out, and everyone touched it. There was a bit of ‘Doing it for Bez’ in it as well, and I’m so glad he got a flag last year.”
with AAP