A Controversial Decision at the Yiooken Trophy
Geelong champion Jimmy Bartel has voiced his criticism of the voters for the Yiooken Trophy, which was awarded to the best player on the ground during the traditional Dreamtime at the ‘G clash between Essendon and Richmond. The Tigers emerged victorious by three goals, sending the Bombers to the bottom of the ladder. However, the medal was given to Dons midfielder Darcy Parish, sparking controversy among fans.
Parish recorded 41 disposals, nine clearances, and seven uncontested marks in the loss, filling up the stat sheet. Despite this, the decision to award him the trophy drew significant backlash from Richmond supporters, who booed loudly upon hearing the announcement.
The votes were cast by a panel of four media members: Brian Taylor, Adam Simpson, Kelli Underwood, and Shaun Burgoyne. Interestingly, none of the voters had Parish as their top choice for the best player on the ground. Instead, he received either one or two votes from the group.
Parish ultimately won the medal with seven votes, narrowly ahead of Richmond players Tim Taranto and Patrick Retschko, who each received six. Retschko, a 20-year-old midfielder, was voted best afield by Simpson and Burgoyne, while Taylor gave his three votes to Taranto. Underwood, however, chose Richmond midfielder Jack Ross as the best on ground, though he did not receive any other votes.
Taranto, who picked up 30 disposals, and Retschko, who finished with 27 disposals and nine score involvements, were both considered impactful players in the game. Bartel argued that the voters focused too much on stats when making their decisions, which could discourage the AFL from implementing changes to the Brownlow Medal.
“This might be the counter to giving umpires the stats (for the Brownlow Medal),” Bartel said on 3AW. “I think (the voters) have genuinely just looked at the stats and seen the 40 and the only player having 40-plus touches. Parish was pretty good tonight, we’re not going downplay the impact he had, but there were more impactful players tonight.”
Bartel has previously raised concerns about the changes made to the Brownlow Medal voting for 2026, which allow umpires to view stats before submitting their votes. Fellow 3AW commentator Bruce Eva echoed these sentiments, calling the decision puzzling.
“I think we said late in the call he had a fumbly sort of night, didn’t we?” Eva added. “It’s not Darcy Parish’s fault, it’s just a strange decision from the four judges. The four media voters are all in separate commentary boxes, but it has to be said that is a strange decision.”
The Yiooken Trophy has been won by some of the club’s all-time greats, including Dustin Martin, James Hird, Jobe Watson, Brett Deledio, Trent Cotchin, and Zach Merrett. It is also the second time that Parish has accepted the award in a losing effort, after winning it in 2021 in a 39-point loss.
“It’s obviously a huge honour to play (in) this game,” Parish said on Friday night after accepting the award in the face of the boos. “All the credit to Richmond tonight, too good for us. I don’t know what to say. We’re out here to win and we didn’t do the job tonight. We’ll be back better next week, but I appreciate everyone coming out.”
