Marks where one player jumps upon another's back for height – known as "spectacular marks" – are often named Mark of the Year.
InAustralian rules football, a player can take amark by catching the ball from akick, which earns protection from tackles. In theAustralian Football League (AFL), the mark subjectively judged the best in each season is namedMark of the Year.
The award is almost always given tospectacular marks – those where one player jumps upon another's back to reach the ball. Although there are no formal rules prescribing what a good mark is, some important factors are how high the player leaps, how long he stays in the air, whether his catch is clean, whether he catches the ball with extended arms, and how dramatic his fall is.[1]
The competition was inspired by a famous mark taken byCarlton'sAlex Jesaulenko in the1970 VFL grand final. Following Jesaulenko's mark, twofootball television shows –Channel Seven'sWorld of Sport andThe Winners onthe ABC – began awarding the title "mark of the year" to the best marks as judged by their panels of football experts. The two shows would often choose different winners. Seven's award was more prestigious because the winning player received a car, but the ABC's edition only bestowed lesser prizes like mugs and bicycles – a disparity bemoaned by several players who only won the latter.[1]
The award is run in conjunction with theGoal of the Year contest, which recognises the bestgoal kicked during an AFL season. Two players have won both the mark and goal awards in the same season:Peter Bosustow (1981) andMichael Mitchell (1990).
The competition was initiated followingAlex Jesaulenko's mark overGraeme "Jerker" Jenkin in the1970 VFL Grand Final ; the medal awarded to the winner now bears his name.[2][3] During the 1970s and early 1980s, the award was decided by a panel of football experts onSeven'sWorld of Sport. During the 1980s and 1990s, the winning mark was determined by selected football journalists and experts.[2] With minor modifications, the current selection process was first used in the1998 season.[4]
In 2001, the AFL itself began operating an official Mark of the Year award in competition with Seven, which became the more prominent award. Certain sources, like theAFL Record Season Guide, only acknowledge these official winners as having taken Marks of the Year.Chris Tarrant's mark in Round 10, 2001, was previously used as the basis of thesilhouette for the Mark of the Year logo despite, ironically, being beaten to the honour byGary Moorcroft's Round 14 mark, considered by many to be one of the best marks of all time.
The competition is open to players in the AFL, Australian rules football's highest league.[2][5] As of 2024, winners receive a prize ofA$50,000 in cash, a $10,000 donation to their junior club, two million Velocity Points for air travel (valued at approximately $40,000–$80,000 depending on how they are used), and theAlex Jesaulenko Medal. The prizes are sponsored byNational Australia Bank andVirgin Australia.[6]
For the majority of the competition's existence, the overall winner has been rewarded with a car, typically the model of whichever auto manufacturer was sponsoring the award at the time. In 1983,Carlton'sKen Hunter won aHolden Commodore SL/X for his mark of the year.[7] The following year's winner,Sydney'sWayne Carroll, scored aNissan Bluebird TRX for his effort.Richmond'sMichael Mitchell received aFord Laser in 1990 for his win following aphone-in poll that attracted 250,000 callers.[8] ThroughoutToyota Australia's sponsorship of the competition in the mid-2000s, players were often granted use of the latest Toyota vehicle (such as theKluger orAurion) for 12 months, alongside a $5,000 donation to theirgrassroots club.[9][10]
Such is the ongoing public association between taking mark of the year and winning "the car", multiple players have believed such a prize was still awarded more than a decade after its cessation.[11][12]
After each round of the regular AFL season, three "mark of the week" nominations are selected by the AFL. Members of the public are then invited to vote for a weekly winner on the AFL website. Weekly polls can occasionally be subject tovote brigading by supporters of larger clubs, which has led to highly favoured marks being overlooked for the weekly prize by more underwhelming nominations.[13] Under the current sponsorship arrangement withFour'n Twenty, weekly voters go in the draw to win $5,000, a pie warmer and a year's worth ofmeat pies.
After the regular season's end, the title is given to a single mark;[14] at times, the eligibility process has extended into the finals series.[10] The potential winner is not restricted to players who won mark of the week; indeed, in 2010, the two favourites both came in round 21, and although the public votedBrendon Goddard as mark of the week, the selection panel namedLiam Jurrah as mark of the year. As of 2023, the AFL game analysis committee selects the three finalists from a list of 29 (the 24 weekly winners, plus five additional marks selected byAFL Media) based on a 5–4–3–2–1 vote given by each member of the committee.
The overall winner, currently announced onBrownlow Medal night, is then determined by a combination of committee voting (counted for 10 votes) and public voting (counted for one vote). At one stage, the overall winner was determined purely by the public, which led to widespread outrage in2017 whenEssendon'sJoe Daniher took out the title over a mark taken byCollingwood'sJeremy Howe, which many deemed to be one of the greatest of all time.[15] Howe's manager at the time claimed that his player lost up to $40,000 in endorsements and image rights based on the unexpected loss.[16] The league amended the voting process following the public debate.[17]
Because the award is traditionally awarded on Brownlow Medal night, which takes place on the Monday before theAFL grand final, the award for both Goal and Mark of the Year is not currently considered for marks and goals taken during the finals series, although this hasn't always been the case.[10] This drew the ire of the press and fans alike in 2024 whenIsaac Heeney was ineligible for the Mark of the Year in what is considered one of the greatest marks of all time, which he took in a qualifying final; similar complaints have been made regarding exceptional finals goals for the Goal of the Year counterpart. Ironically, the Alex Jesaulenko Medal itself was inspired by a famous mark he took in the1970 VFL Grand Final, which, under the current rules, would not have been eligible for the award (had it existed at the time).[18]
State leagues such as theSouth Australian National Football League and theWest Australian Football League hold their own mark of the year competitions each season, with public voting determining the overall winner.[54][55] Many other semi-professional and amateur Australian rules football leagues also run an equivalent competition, with the increasing prevalence of league-wide web broadcasting allowing for a more comprehensive nomination process.[56][57] Nation-wide promotions are also intermittently run, encouraging local footballers of all age groups to submit their home videos.[58]
^abcChilds, Kevin; Weiniger, Peter; Dunn, Roger; Hutchinson, Alex; Cash, Damien; Duhengoh, Ron (1996). John Ross; Garrie Hutchinson (eds.).100 Years of Australian Football 1897 - 1996 (1st ed.). Ringwood, Victoria, Australia: Penguin Books Australia Ltd – The Viking Press. p. 383.ISBN978-1854714343.
^Lovett, Michael, ed. (2023). "AFL Mark of the Year: Alex Jesaulenko Medal".AFL Record Season Guide 2023: official statistical history of the AFL.Sports Entertainment Network. p. 649.ISBN978-0-6456573-0-2.
^Wright, Gerald (25 August 1997). "No escape this time as Swans' minds wander".Sydney Morning Herald. p. 27.... CV includes the Mark of the Year in 1988 when he majestically ascended over Collingwood's Craig Starcevich to meet the footy about 4m above the MCG turf ...
