Official logo for the Mark of the Year competition

The annual Mark of the Year competition (currently known as the Hungry Jack's AFL Mark of the Year) is a sporting award that celebrates each season's best mark. A mark is the action of a player cleanly catching a kicked ball that has travelled more than 15 metres (49 ft) without the ball hitting the ground.

Originally known as the VFL Mark of the Year and selected by a panel of football experts on Network Seven's "World of Sport" program, it was renamed to the AFL Mark of the Year following the competition's renaming in 1990. Since 2001 it has been run by the AFL itself and has been selected by a public vote. It is only open to players within the AFL and applies to marks taken during official AFL-season matches. Several other Australian rules football leagues followed with their own versions of the Mark of the Year competition.

The iconic VFL footballer, Alex Jesaulenko, unofficially won the first award for a spectacular mark during the 1970 VFL Grand Final – a mark that has been frequently called The Mark of the Century.

Thirty-two players have won the competition; of those, five have won multiple times and six are still active in the AFL. The competition is run in conjunction with the Goal of the Year competition, which recognizes the best particular goal kicked during an AFL season. Two players have managed to win both the Mark of the Year and Goal of the Year competitions within a single season: Michael Mitchell and Peter Bosustow.

An Australian rules football. It must be caught successfully during an AFL match to qualify the mark for the competition.

[edit] Background

Matthew Lloyd – Incumbent holder of the title (2008)

Known officially as the Hungry Jack's AFL Mark of the Year,^[1][2] the competition is only open to players belonging to the AFL (Australian rules football's highest league).^[3][4] Those successfully chosen to receive the title win an assortment of awards, including a $5,000 prize for their grassroots (junior) club, the use of a Toyota Kluger for 12 months and the Alex Jesaulenko Medal.^[2][3][5][6]

The current Victorian Football League (formerly known as the Victorian Football Association) also runs a similar competition; however, the winners are only selected from the few games that are televised each year on ABC2. Many other amateur Australian rules football leagues also run an equivalent competition, but they often rely on less comprehensive television footage; some amateur leagues rely on spectators who submit photos and amateur video recordings to the league^[7] or to television shows such as the AFL Footy Show.^[8][9]

Chris Tarrant's mark in Round 11, 2001 has been used as the basis of the silhouette for the Mark of the Year logo, despite its losing the Mark of the Year to Gary Moorcroft's round 14 mark.^[2] Many of the best marks in the VFL/AFL were featured in a VHS/DVD named Miracle Marks.^[10]

[edit] History

Alex Jesaulenko's mark over Graeme "Jerker" Jenkin in the 1970 Grand Final

The competition was initiated following Alex Jesaulenko's mark over Graeme "Jerker" Jenkin in the 1970 (Victorian Football League) Grand Final and later recognised officially as the Mark of the Year; the medal awarded to the winner now bears his name.^[3][4][11] During the 1970s and early 1980s, the award was decided by a panel of football experts on Network Seven's "World of Sport" program and during the 1980s and 1990s, the winning mark was determined by selected football journalists and experts.^[3] With minor modifications, the current selection process was first used in the 1998 season.^[7][12]

In 1990, the competition (originally known as the VFL Mark of the Year) was renamed to the AFL Mark of the Year, following the inception of the Australian Football league.^[3][13][14] The incumbent winner for the 2008 AFL season is Matthew Lloyd of the Essendon Football Club, for a towering pack mark against the Melbourne Football Club in round 18.^[15]

[edit] Selection process

After each round of the regular AFL season, the "mark of the week" nominations are determined by a panel of football experts. The general public can then vote for a weekly winner.^[1][6] Following the conclusion of the season, the weekly winners are scaled down to a final three which football fans vote on, to determine the overall winner.^[6] The title is given to a single mark, which is selected from the 25 weekly winners—which include twenty-two rounds of the standard AFL season and the first three weeks of the final playoffs—by the AFL All Australian selection committee; the public is not given an opinion in the final outcome. The winners are announced on Grand Final day.^[6]

[edit] Annual winners

Gary Moorcroft's famous 2001 mark of the year

Michael Newton's 2007 Mark of the Year

AFL Mark of the Year Winners

Key

Year	Winner	Team	Match, Round, Ground	Note
1970	Jesaulenko, AlexAlex Jesaulenko^	Carlton	Carlton vs Collingwood, Grand Final day, Melbourne Cricket Ground	Spectacular mark over Graeme Jenkin during Grand Final day.[5][11][16]
1971	Ruscuklic, AlexAlex Ruscuklic	Fitzroy	Fitzroy vs Carlton, Round 10, Princes Park	"High Flyer" by centre-half forward Alex Ruscuklic.[3]
1972	Knights, PeterPeter Knights^	Hawthorn	Hawthorn vs Collingwood, Round 17, Glenferrie Oval	Halfback Peter Knights throws a screamer against Collingwood.[3]
1973	Jesaulenko, AlexAlex Jesaulenko^	Victoria	Victoria vs Western Australia, Interstate match, Melbourne Cricket Ground	Jesaulenko takes "Mark of the Season" and kicks five goals in Victoria's "demolition" of WA (158 v 70).[3]
1974	Picken, BillyBilly Picken^	Collingwood	Collingwood vs Richmond, Round 9, Melbourne Cricket Ground	Billy Picken takes a screamer during the John Greening comeback game.
1975	Knights, PeterPeter Knights^	Hawthorn	Hawthorn vs Carlton, Round 17, Princes Park	Juggling mark before Carlton player swung his leg, causing Knights to fall on to his chest.[3]
1976	Picken, BillyBilly Picken^	Collingwood	Collingwood vs St. Kilda, Round 16, Victoria Park	Overhead mark by Billy Picken against St. Kilda.
1977	Knights, PeterPeter Knights^	Hawthorn	Collingwood vs Hawthorn, Round 9, Princes Park	Chest mark over the pack.
1978	Baker, PhilPhil Baker	North Melbourne	Hawthorn vs North Melbourne, Grand Final day, Melbourne Cricket Ground	High mark above Hawks defenders Kelvin Moore and Ian Paton in the 1978 Grand final.[17]
1979	Roach, MichaelMichael Roach	Richmond	Richmond vs Hawthorn, Round 5, Melbourne Cricket Ground	Chest mark over Kelvin Moore Terry Moore and Ian Paton.
1980	Teasdale, GrahamGraham Teasdale	South Melbourne	South Melbourne vs Collingwood, Round 7, Lake Oval[18]	Graham Teasdale takes a "Marvellous Mark" over Collingwoods Billy Picken.[3]
1981	Bosustow, PeterPeter Bosustow#	Carlton	Carlton vs Geelong, Round 18, Princes Park	Chest mark over the pack.
1982	Raines, GeoffGeoff Raines	Richmond	Richmond vs Fitzroy, Round 2, Waverley park	Leaped high above his Fitzroy opponent before falling forward with the ball firmly in his grasp.[3][19]
1983	Hunter, KenKen Hunter	Carlton	Carlton vs North Melbourne, Round 21, Princes Park	Overhead mark running into a pack.
1984	Banks, DenisDenis Banks	Collingwood	Footscray vs Collingwood, Round 10, Western Oval	Mark running with the flight of the ball.
1985	Ablett, Sr., GaryGary Ablett, Sr.^	Geelong	Geelong vs North Melbourne, Round 5, Kardinia Park	Specky over the pack.
1986	Buckenara, GaryGary Buckenara	Hawthorn	Hawthorn vs Carlton, Round 1, Waverley Park[20]	A towering "high flyer" over two Carlton players.[3]
1987	Capper, WarwickWarwick Capper	Sydney	Sydney vs Hawthorn, Round 7, Sydney Cricket Ground[21]	Used Chris Langford as a stepladder to take the ball while lying on his side.[22]
1988	Silvagni, StephenStephen Silvagni	Carlton	Collingwood vs Carlton, Round 14, Melbourne Cricket Ground	Chest mark with long hangtime over Craig Starcevich.
1989	Lynch, AlastairAlastair Lynch	Fitzroy	Fitzroy vs North Melbourne, Round 16, Melbourne Cricket Ground	Juggling mark over the pack.
1990	Mitchell, MichaelMichael Mitchell#	Richmond	Richmond vs Fitzroy, Round 5, Melbourne Cricket Ground	A juggled mark against his Fitzroy opponent.
1991	Allison, BrettBrett Allison	North Melbourne	North Melbourne vs Collingwood, Round 11, Melbourne Cricket Ground	Specky over Gavin Crosisca.
1992	Winmar, NickyNicky Winmar	St Kilda	West Coast vs St. Kilda, Round 3, Subiaco Oval	A "breathtaking" mark at Subiaco Oval.[23]
1993	Modra, TonyTony Modra^	Adelaide	Adelaide vs North Melbourne, Round 8, Football Park	Spectacular mark over Ian Fairley and Glenn Archer of North Melbourne. Adelaide came from behind to record a 2 point win.[24]
1994	Ablett, Sr., GaryGary Ablett, Sr.^	Geelong	Collingwood vs Geelong, Round 7, Melbourne Cricket Ground	Took a magnificent leap, basically sitting in Magpie Gary Pert's arms and took a one-handed juggling mark..[25]
1995	Smith, ShaunShaun Smith	Melbourne	Brisbane vs Melbourne, Round 22, Brisbane Cricket Ground	"High Leap" over teammate Garry Lyon.
1996	Hart, BenBen Hart	Adelaide	Adelaide vs St. Kilda, Round 8, Football Park	Intercepted Peter Everitt's inside 50 entry by jumping and lying on his back 3m into the air, at the Northern End of Football Park against St Kilda.[26]
1997	Modra, TonyTony Modra^	Adelaide	Adelaide vs North Melbourne, Round 17, Football Park	Against North Melbourne, Modra rode high on Michael Martyn's shoulders facing towards the crowd with the ball coming in from behind. Turned in midair and grabbed the ball.[24]
1998	Abraham, WinstonWinston Abraham	North Melbourne	North Melbourne vs Port Adelaide, Round 18, Manuka Oval	An overhead mark over Port's Brendon Lade.[27]
1999	Lappin, MatthewMatthew Lappin	Carlton	Carlton vs Essendon, Round 1, Melbourne Cricket Ground	A courageous overhead mark over the pack in the opening match of the season over Judd Lalich.[27]
2000	Modra, TonyTony Modra^	Fremantle	Fremantle vs Geelong, Round 1, Subiaco Oval	From within a pack, Tony Modra rose on the back of his opponent to take a spectacular, from the kick by team mate Ashley Prescott.[27]
2001	Moorcroft, GaryGary Moorcroft	Essendon	Essendon vs Western Bulldogs, Round 14, Telstra Dome	An overhead mark at full stretch after leaping onto and then springing a further metre into the air off Brad Johnson.[28]
2002	Brown, JonathanJonathan Brown*	Brisbane	Hawthorn vs Brisbane, Round 17, Melbourne Cricket Ground	A courageous chest mark running with the flight of the ball, launching into the oncoming Jade Rawlings.[29]
2003	Tarrant, ChrisChris Tarrant*	Collingwood	Collingwood vs Geelong, Round 18, Telstra Dome	A towering chest mark over Cat defenders Matthew Scarlett and Max Rooke.[30]
2004	Sampi, AshleyAshley Sampi	West Coast Eagles	West Coast vs Melbourne, Round 7, Melbourne Cricket Ground	Rose high with a chest mark over Paul Wheatley and Adem Yze, landing catlike on his feet.[31]
2005	McPharlin, LukeLuke McPharlin*	Fremantle	Fremantle vs West Coast, Round 3, Subiaco Oval	A chest mark at knee height on the shoulders of an opponent in a pack of players.
2006	Ottens, BradBrad Ottens*	Geelong	Geelong vs Sydney, Round 5, Telstra Stadium	A high flying mark in a pack over Darren Jolly who cushioned Ottens' fall causing additional 'hang-time'.[32]
2007	Newton, MichaelMichael Newton*	Melbourne	Melbourne vs Kangaroos, Round 17, Telstra Dome	High leap in Melbourne's forward fifty over David Neitz and Kangaroos defenders Glenn Archer and Leigh Brown.[33]
2008	Lloyd, MatthewMatthew Lloyd	Essendon	Essendon vs Melbourne, Round 18, Melbourne Cricket Ground	A screamer, over a pack of five players late in the third quarter.[15][34]
2009	Burton, BrettBrett Burton*	Adelaide	Carlton vs Adelaide, Round 22, Etihad Stadium	Jumped early on a pack consisting of teamate Kurt Tippett and Carlton's Ruckman Matthew Kreuzer and recieved an extra lift off of Carlton backman Bret Thornton to take the mark on his chest. Commentators Dwayne Russell and Jason Dunstall dubbed it one of the marks of the century.[35]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} "AFL Mark of the year". droppunt.com.au. http://droppunt.com/moty/markindex.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-15. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Hungry Jack's Mark of the year". afl.com.au. http://www.afl.com.au/competitions/mark/mark.aspx. Retrieved 2009-04-14. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Childs, Kevin; Peter Weiniger, Roger Dunn, Alex Hutchinson (1996). editors: John Ross, Garrie Hutchinson. ed. 100 Years of Australian Football 1897 - 1996. Damien Cash, Ron Duhengoh (1st ed.). Ringwood, Victoria, Australia: Penguin Books Australia Ltd - The Viking Press. p. 383. ISBN 670868140. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Harding, Mike (3 May 1995). "Bare, Bald and Blue". Sports Weekly. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "AFL Mark of the year". droppunt.com. http://www.droppunt.com/moty/markindex.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "About Mark of the Year". afl.com.au. http://afl.com.au/MOTYGOTY/about.html. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
7. ^ ^{a b} McLeod, Andrew; Trevor D. Jaques (2006). Australian Football: Steps to Success. Human Kinetics. p. 192 pages. ISBN 0736060057. 
8. ^ "WWOS - Footy Show Section, Almost Football Legends". ninemsn network. http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/afl/footyshow/legend/. Retrieved 2008-10-02. 
9. ^ "Almost Football Legends" (PDF). Nine Network Australia. http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/img/AlmostFootballLegends.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-14. 
10. ^ "AFL-Miracle Marks (2000)". michaeldvd.com. http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Reviews/Reviews.asp?ID=3400. Retrieved 2008-09-22. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Broad, Ben (10:43 PM Thu 08 May, 2008). "You beauty! Jezza made an AFL legend". AFL.com.au. http://www.afl.com.au/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=59337. Retrieved 2008-11-27. 
12. ^ "Toyota AFL Mark and Goal of the Year". afl.com.au. http://afl.com.au/tabid/208/default.aspx?newsid=61663. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
13. ^ Sayer, Max. "The AFL and The History Of Australian Football". Full Points Publications. http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/the_afl_and_the_history_of_australian_rules_football.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 
14. ^ "Berlin Crocodiles - AU football Club". Berlin Australian Football Club e.V. (BAFC). http://www.berlin-crocodiles.de/58-0-introduction-to-afl.html. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 
15. ^ ^{a b} Phelan, Jason (5:22 PM Wed 08 October, 2008). "Lloyd, Davis take 2008 mark and goal honours". Australian Football League - afl.com.au. http://afl.com.au/tabid/208/default.aspx?newsid=68793. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
16. ^ Main, Jim; Peter Ryan (2:54 PM Thu 05 July, 2007). "Look back in wonder". BigPond and AFL. http://www.afl.com.au/News/NEWSARTICLE/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=46657. Retrieved 2008-11-14. 
17. ^ Anderson, Jon (September 24, 2008). "1978 VFL Grand Final: A lesson in positive thinking". The Herald Sun. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,24393378-19742,00.html. Retrieved 2008-11-17. 
18. ^ "1980 Season Scores and Results". rleague.com. http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RMIbkPQ0IQ. Retrieved 2008-11-16. 
19. ^ "Geoff Raines - that was then". Geocities - Yahoo. http://www.geocities.com/buckleysurfers2002/thenandnowraines.html. Retrieved 2008-11-17. 
20. ^ "1986 Season Scores and Results". rleague.com. http://www.stats.rleague.com/afl/seas/1986.html. Retrieved 2008-11-16. 
21. ^ "1987 Season Scores and Results". rleague.com. http://www.stats.rleague.com/afl/seas/1987.html. Retrieved 2008-11-16. 
22. ^ "Fitzroy's Last Hurrah". www.fullpointsfooty.net. http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/fitzroy%27s_last_hurrah.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
23. ^ "Nicky Winmar - Saints hall of fame". St.Kilda Football Club - saints.com.au - Official Website of the St. Kilda AFL Football Club. http://www.saints.com.au/TheClub/History/HallofFame/NeilElvisNickyWinmar/tabid/9136/Default.aspx. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
24. ^ ^{a b} "Tony Modra - footystamps.com" (in english). www.footystamps.com. 2006-09-24. http://www.footystamps.com/ac_tony_modra.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
25. ^ "Gar Ablett, senior, Geelong football Club". Elvis Australia - Official Elvis Presley Fan Club. http://www.elvis.com.au/gary_ablett.html. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
26. ^ "Ben Hart of the Adelaide Crows Player Profile and AFL stats". ProWess Sports. http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/pp-adelaide-crows--ben-hart. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
27. ^ ^{a b c} "Past Marks' of the year". droppunt.com. http://www.droppunt.com/moty/past.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
28. ^ "2001 AFL MARK OF THE YEAR". droppunt.com. http://www.droppunt.com/moty/2001winner.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
29. ^ "Lions dominate All-Australian team". ABC NEws online. September 18, 2002. Posted: 13:15:24 (AEDT). http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200209/s679255.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-27. 
30. ^ "Mark of the Year 2003". http://www.droppunt.com/moty/2003winner.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
31. ^ AAP (7 September 2004). "New faces dominate All-Australian team". the age. http://www.theage.com.au/cgi-bin/common/popupPrintArticle.pl?path=/realfooty/articles/2004/09/07/1094530608923.html. Retrieved 2008-09-27. 
32. ^ AAP (1 October 2006). "Betts' goal provides Blues' bright spot". the age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/10/01/1159641196965.html. Retrieved 2008-09-27. 
33. ^ "Newton wins 2007 Toyota AFL Mark of the Year". AFL.COM.AU. 5:24 PM Wed 26 September 2007. http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=51775. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
34. ^ "Lloyd, Davis claim honours". The Herald Sun. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,24465867-19742,00.html. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
35. ^ "Burton, Rioli win mark and goal of the year". AFL BigPond Network. 28 September 2009. http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/85439/default.aspx. Retrieved 2009-09-28. 

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