Sport
11 July, 2026
Ruck star ruled out of medal contention
MACORNA’S star ruckman Matt Colak has been declared ineligible to win this season’s Frank Harding Medal for the Loddon Valley’s best and fairest player.
MACORNA’S star ruckman Matt Colak has been declared ineligible to win this season’s Frank Harding Medal for the Loddon Valley’s best and fairest player.
Colak entered an early guilty plea to a charge of engaging in rough conduct against Inglewood in round four and was given a reprimand, which counts as a guilty verdict.
Macorna did not take the charge to the AFL Central Victoria Tribunal to try to have the decision thrown out.
On Monday night, the Loddon Valley board discussed using its discretion to allow Colak to remain eligible for the medal but chose not to intervene.
Colak, in his first Loddon Valley season, has emerged as the best big man in the competition, and has been among Macorna’s best players most weeks.
He was rested against Bears Lagoon Serpentine last round, but when he plays, he rarely takes a spell on the bench, and as a ruckman he is continually under the nose of the umpires who vote for the medal.
Colak is third in the league’s Elvee Award, which is judged on club 3-2-1 votes after every match, and is usually a reliable guide to Harding Medal voting.
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