Nick Riewoldt expects Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell to be given Brownlow Medals but award will be tainted
ST KILDA champion Nick Riewoldt expects Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell to be awarded Brownlow Medals but concedes the 2012 award will be tainted.
Essendon star Jobe Watson handed back his medal on Friday ahead of an AFL Commission meeting on Tuesday to decide whether he’ll be stripped of the league’s highest individual honour.
The Commission will now need to make a decision on whether joint runners-up Cotchin and Mitchell will be declared the winners.
The pair finished four votes short of Watson on the night.
The Herald Sun revealed on Saturday the Commission is split on the call.
Riewoldt believes Cotchin and Mitchell will be awarded Brownlows in the same vein as when a player finishes on top of the leaderboard but is ineligible because of a suspension during that season.
“I think so,” Riewoldt said of whether they should receive the honour. “With just having no winner from that year will look a bit silly.
“There will be an asterisk there no doubt but you’d expect both guys to probably be handed it retrospectively.”
The Saints superstar admits though, that the 2012 Brownlow Medal will be tainted.
“It’s a really difficult one,” Riewoldt told Triple M. “That year is always going to be tainted a little because Jobe won the medal on the night.
RUNNERS-UP: COMMISSION SPLIT ON COTCHIN, MITCHELL CALL
PAST WINNERS: SOME SAY IT WOULD BE WRONG TO AWARD MEDAL TO MITCHELL, COTCHIN
JOBE WATSON: BOMBER HANDS BACK HIS 2012 BROWNLOW MEDAL
MARK ROBINSON: DEBACLE ENDS IN A GREAT INJUSTICE
ADAM COONEY: BROWNLOW DOESN’T DEFINE JOBE WATSON
“I think both guys (Cotchin and Mitchell) have handled it really well so far, have been really respectful of Jobe and the process and I would expect those two guys to sit on their hands and accept whatever ruling the Commission come down with.
“It’s just a really unfortunate situation …I just hope now that this is the end of it.
“I really feel for Jobe, he’s a great guy and I don’t ever for one second doubt that he consciously did anything wrong.”