Jake King will not get a lap of the MCG on Grand Final day as he hasn’t played enough games Jon Ralph
Herald Sun
August 14, 2014 9:00PMTHE AFL is adamant Jake King won’t get a Grand Final farewell lap despite Richmond coach Damien Hardwick lauding him as a “special player” crucial to the fabric of Punt Road.
The AFL’s Grand Final lap of honour is open only to players in their official “200 club” or who have won a major medal like a Brownlow, Coleman or Norm Smith Medal.
Hardwick was asked this week about a send-off for King, who thrilled the Richmond cheer squad by knocking back a beer when he sat with them at a recent game.
He said retiree King deserved that kind of farewell despite just 107 games in his eight years at Richmond.
“It is an interesting one. Someone asked me the question the other day and it is something the AFL will work their way through. They have got protocols but some players are important to the fabric of our game. Whether or not they can make exceptions I am not too sure.
“He is very small anyway, it’s not as though he would be able to see over the back of the (Toyota) Hilux they would be driving anyway.”
The AFL made it clear they could not make exceptions given the precedent it would set.
“A club can do what they like for a player at any of their matches but (at the Grand Final) a player has to be a major medallist or part of the 200 club. The standard used for the last 15 or 20 years is the 200 club. Jake is about 90 games short,’’ AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said.
The 200 club members must have played, coached or umpires games or any of the three combined.
Hardwick lauded King as a player similar to Dean Wallis at Essendon — “He might have only played 100 games, but the influence he had was similiar to Jake. They are special players to their club.”
The Tigers will need to win without King and keep on winning to qualify for September, with their first task against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/jake-king-will-not-get-a-lap-of-the-mcg-on-grand-final-day-as-he-hasnt-played-enough-games/story-e6frf3e3-1227024666814