Shai Bolton mark: Brody Mihocek wins mark of the week for Round 8
Fans have been left gobsmacked after the mark labelled the best of the season was snubbed in Round 8 voting. And AFL chief Gillon McLachlan was just as surprised.
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Gillon McLachlan admits Shai Bolton was robbed by the public’s Mark of the Year vote, describing his omission as “the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard”.
The AFL chief executive confirmed Bolton would still be in the running for the $10,000 cash prize as a lucky loser when the prize is decided on Brownlow Medal night.
Bolton was outvoted by Collingwood fans eager to boost Brody Mihocek’s mark, but with the Pies forward winning the weekly vote he will have to wait as one of five extra marks nominated at year’s end.
The AFL confirmed the yearly prize for that mark is $10,000, up from 52 boxes of Weet-Bix handed out to Nic Naitanui in 2015.
The league overhauled the award after Jeremy Howe lost to Joe Daniher in a bizarre 2017 decision, with the AFL’s game analysis team’s 10 votes added to ones from the public to decide the eventual winner.
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McLachlan said Bolton’s high-flying mark over Geelong’s Mark Blicavs clearly deserved to be the week’s nominee.
“It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard. Mihocek’s mark was very good but Shai Bolton’s was the best I’ve seen in years,” he told 3AW.
“Thankfully, we’ve corrected it. Obviously the public disagrees with me and maybe you but there’s now a provision that the AFL All-Australian committee can add five marks beyond the week-to-week public voting and I feel confident Shai’s will be there at the end when the All Australian selection committee can add five marks.
“It was an unbelievable mark and just the energy that created at the ground was remarkable.”
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick found a way to get in a plug for the club’s car sponsors after Bolton’s missed nomination.
“(It’s) a bit strange. It should be two cars for the mark. I am sure Jeep Gladiator would jump in and give him a nice car if he doesn’t win one. It was a great mark.”
Shoutout to the Magpie Army, you've done it.
— Collingwood FC (@CollingwoodFC) May 13, 2021
Brody Mihocek (50.8%) has topped the voting for the round 8 MOTY, ahead of Shai Bolton (41.2%) 😇 https://t.co/4qzFfPRTf2
That’s just embarrassing.
— Mitch (@Rileymitch19987) May 13, 2021
Collingwood supporter but Bolton wins easily
— Bryan Martin OAM (@bmracingclub) May 13, 2021
With all due respect to Brody, this wasn’t mark of the week. I reckon he would even agree with that. https://t.co/z6K49skX9P
— Matthew Richardson (@mattricho0) May 13, 2021
The high-flying specky was relegated into second by one-eyed footy fans, who instead voted for Mihocek’s grab over Ben Cunnington at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
The final margin was 50.8 per cent of the vote to Bolton’s 41.2 per cent.
It ended a bad five days for Bolton, who broke his wrist in a nightclub incident on Saturday night after stepping in to help teammate Daniel Rioli and will miss several weeks of football.
The exciting midfielder’s breathtaking leap to the heavens at the MCG over Geelong big man Marc Blicavs last Friday night was widely touted as the “mark of the year” the minute it was taken.
More than that, it lays claim to one of the greatest grabs of all time.
What were people thinking?
Mihocek’s was merely a great mark.
Tiger great Matthew Richardson tweeted: “With all due respect to Brody, this wasn’t mark of the week. I reckon he would even agree with that.”
One fan tweeted the result was “just embarrassing” while Collingwood praised the passion of its fans by tweeting: “Shoutout to the Magpie Army, you’ve done it”.
The Herald Sun ran photographer Michael Klein’s picture of Bolton’s screamer as a poster in Saturday’s paper as a tribute to his acrobatic feat.
But, thankfully, it is still in the running to win the mark of the year award despite today’s ridiculous result.
By year’s end, an AFL panel can add five extra marks to the final field of 23.
Only sheer lunacy would prevent Bolton from making this cut.
The AFL game analysis committee then whittles the 28 marks down to three finalists, using a 5-4-3-2-1 voting system.
The public is then again allowed back into the system, but under restriction.
The public opinion is counted as one vote, while the game analysis committee’s vote counts for 10.
The system was changed after Jeremy Howe was robbed of mark of the year in 2017.
Howe was at his aerial best when he clunked a brilliant grab high over the shoulders of Melbourne’s Tom McDonald in Round 12 at the MCG.
But it counted for little in the eyes of the voting public who instead named Joe Daniher as the winner for his decent grab over Saint Jake Carlisle.
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