Giteau’s win shows Eales Medal needs revamp
By Jim Morton, 24 Oct 2009 Jim Morton is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- John Eales Medal, Matt Giteau, Rugby Union, Tri Nations, wallabies
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Matt Giteau’s maiden John Eales Medal shows Australian rugby’s most prestigious individual award is in need of a revamp.
How can a player who readily admits he’s just produced his “worst” Tri-Nations series form be crowned the Wallabies’ best for the past year?
To a humbled, almost embarrassed, Giteau’s credit he put his hand up to say he was far off his best as Australia endured five losses from their last six Tests against South Africa and the All Blacks.
His Eales Medal was won through the votes of teammates who all give out 3-2-1 scores after each of the 14 Tests dating back 12 months to the start of the 2008 Spring Tour.
As playmaker and goalkicker, Giteau is involved in key action and goalscoring far more than his colleagues and his good work is more easily highlighted.
The same centrality to the ball, and chance to shine in open play, has helped back-rowers dominate the award since its inception in 2002.
Giteau was also assisted through his much better form on last year’s spring tour, included in voting because no one wants to celebrate the past rugby season in mid-December.
But what should count most is performance in the Tri Nations, the major annual focus for the Wallabies and their fans.
Giteau, overlooked for the Wallabies captaincy and now poised to lose his cherished No.10 jersey to Berrick Barnes, said he was even surprised to be nominated in the top five before the award was announced.
And he felt he owed runner-up Nathan Sharpe, 28 points behind, as the veteran lock missed the last three Tests of the year through injury.
The undoubted player of 2009 has been world-class prop Benn Robinson who was a consistently a force to be reckoned with up front, where his great deeds aren’t seen by all his teammates.
One thing that Australian rugby’s gala awards night in Sydney did show was that rugby fans are no mugs as Robinson was a runaway winner of the Australia Choice award, voted online by the public.
But the ARU has no plans to go the way of the AFL (umpires) or NRL (media and former greats) by taking the Eales Medal voting off the players.
The Wallabies have made no bones they justifiably prefer to gain the accolades from their peers and, for Giteau, that was the most significant part of receiving the honour.
“For me this is the number one award because it is voted by the players,” he said on Friday morning.
“To have the respect of the players is all I really seek.”
An idea to ensure there is a more just award winner would be to separate the previous year’s end-of-season tour from the Eales Medal.
The ARU could even strike a new award, say the Andrew Slack Medal in honour of the 1984 Grand Slam-winning Wallabies captain, for the player of the spring tour, and present it on the same awards night.
That way, the John Eales Medal would exclusively be a calendar year individual award.
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jase said | October 24th 2009 @ 1:22pm | Report comment
matt giteau deserves this award. Whilst he has not achieved his best results this tri nations, none of the wallabies have. Look at all of the other years he has deserved it and has lost. GO GITEAU! He truly deserves this for all of his hard work.
mudskipper said | October 25th 2009 @ 12:22pm | Report comment
Totally agree with you… while he has had a mixed last couple of months, he has still been the best on field or one of best continuously for the Wallabies this past year. The fact that the team was under preforming did help his form either.
I like there is an award selected on voting from their own Wallaby peers…
Parisien said | October 24th 2009 @ 6:59pm | Report comment
It does seem bizarre having points carried from a previous calendar year and season which the public has half forgotten.
However its easy to fix:
The calendar year should comprise in order the May tests, then the Tri- Nations, with the end of year tour to finish. It provides incentive and interest all the way to the end of the year and THEN you award the Medal for the players player before they take their summer holidays.
Another idea: publish the points gained progressively throughout the season, or at least at the halway point…
Amy91 said | October 24th 2009 @ 7:26pm | Report comment
Giteau deserved it, the media, Deans and even himself are given Giteau a hard time because he had a couple of off games, but his off games are still better than other Wallaby players normal games. Giteau is the best player in the Wallabies and one of the best in the world – how is anyone else more derserving? The stats where in Giteau’s favour as well! Giteau deserves it – and the players knew it as well.
Parisien said | October 24th 2009 @ 7:59pm | Report comment
I think Giteau deserves it too. Benn Robinson still has time to win it.
I’m surprised that in the last seven awards of Australia’s key players, Larkham never won it! Nor did Gregan, or Mortlock.
The other important players between 2003 and today got on the honour board.
Previous winners of the John Eales Medal
2002 – George Smith
2003 – Phil Waugh
2004 – David Lyons
2005 – Jeremy Paul
2006 – Chris Latham
2007 – Nathan Sharpe
2008 – George Smith
Amy91 said | October 24th 2009 @ 8:05pm | Report comment
I agree to win the award u shouldn’t have just had a good season … it is prestigous – great players over numerous seasons have gotten it so far and it should stay that way – gits deserved it.
Also agree with – Parisien – Larkham should have gotten it, he deserved it – as did Mortlock and Gregan.
JTG said | October 25th 2009 @ 9:27am | Report comment
Gits is a good player, an Individual good player but maybe not an overall team player. He didn’t lose us the Bledisloe in Sydney but he didn’t try to win it either,IMO he doesn’t have the hunger that some of the past “greats” had, It’s a job not a passion for him, that showed by him not even thinking about kicking a field goal in the dying seconds, I was at the game in line with the back play & everyone around us was saying this is it a field goal, but no it never crossed his mind, It crossed Larkham’s mind in “99″. I think the John Eales medal is more a popularity contest??
Parisien said | October 26th 2009 @ 12:15am | Report comment
JTG and Jim Morton, perhaps you are missing the point here. The players voted for him, and I think they are well placed to know who they value in a match. It is not a “best player ” award determined by journalists or public, (Benn Robinson won that one) so popularity contest or not, he won fair and square with the votes of the players. Surely neither of you are suggesting they would rig their own players vote contest?
Jameswm said | October 26th 2009 @ 9:30am | Report comment
I’ll go against the grain and say I don’t think Giteau should have won it. Wonderful player that he is, others have done better in the past 12 months. Anyway, it certainly won’t degrade the medal’s value to have M Giteau on one!
The trick now Gits is don’t spit the dummy if you lose the 5/8 spot. You missed out on the v-c too, get over it, and show us your brilliant best with 12 on your back.