AFL Mark Of The Year — The Annual Hangtime Crown

The AFL Mark of the Year is the annual hangtime competition — the high-flying, knees-on-shoulders, ball-pinned-against-the-back specky that goes viral on social media within seconds of being taken. Awarded each year to the most spectacular mark of the AFL season, the award is voted by fans, panelists, and broadcasters, and it crowns the year’s most-watched piece of athletic theatre. Eddie Betts has owned the Goal of the Year reel; Mark of the Year is a different beast — and the contestants change every season.

The History: Hangtime as Art

The “Mark of the Year” concept has been around informally since the 1960s — Polly Farmer, Alex Jesaulenko, Gary Ablett Sr, and others all produced famously high-flying speccies that became broadcast highlights. The AFL formalised the award in the 1990s with public voting and panel deliberation.

The voting system: fans nominate marks throughout the season; AFL panel selects the year’s top 10; final voting (combining fan and panel input) crowns the winner. The award is presented at the AFL’s annual awards ceremony and the winning mark is replayed during the Brownlow Medal ceremony.

The Modern Era

The 2000s and 2010s produced some of the most iconic Marks of the Year:

• 2024: Mark of the Year recipients included Aaron Naughton (Western Bulldogs) and Jeremy Cameron (Geelong) for various speccies.
• 2023: Brody Mihocek (Collingwood) — high-flying contested mark.
• 2022: Mac Andrew (Gold Coast) — debut-season mark on the Suns’ shoulders.
• 2021: Various COVID-era contenders.
• 2020: Jordan De Goey (Collingwood) — knees-on-Bryce Gibbs’ shoulders.
• 2019: Jack Riewoldt (Richmond) — finals-clinching mark.
• 2018: Aaron Naughton’s debut speccie.
• 2017: Eddie Betts (Adelaide) — finals contention mark.
• 2016: Matthew Wright (Western Bulldogs) — Grand Final qualifier mark.
• 2015: Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn) — high-flying premiership mark.

The Pre-Modern Speccies

Before the formal Mark of the Year, several speccies became permanent footy memories:

• Alex Jesaulenko’s 1970 Grand Final mark over Graeme Jenkin — voted as the Mark of the Century in 2001 and one of the most-replayed pieces of footy footage.
• Gary Ablett Sr’s various speccies from the 1980s — knees-on-heads marking that defined an era.
• Buddy Franklin’s speccies from his Hawthorn era — including the famous mark over Geelong defenders.
• Cyril Rioli’s leaping marks that became Hawthorn’s signature.

The Goal Of The Century vs Mark Of The Century

In 2001, the AFL ran a special “Goal of the Century” and “Mark of the Century” vote. Alex Jesaulenko’s 1970 Grand Final mark/goal won both — the same play, voted as the century’s best mark and best goal. Jesaulenko famously took the speccie over Jenkin and then snapped the goal in the same passage of play, producing perhaps the most-celebrated 30 seconds in VFL/AFL history.

Trivia for the Pub

• The Mark of the Year was formalised in the 1990s.
• The award is voted by fans, panel, and broadcasters.
• Alex Jesaulenko’s 1970 Grand Final mark won Mark of the Century in 2001.
• Aaron Naughton has been a multi-time Mark of the Year contender.
• Eddie Betts is more associated with Goal of the Year (he’s won multiple) than Mark of the Year.
• Mark of the Year contenders are typically small-to-medium forwards or defenders performing speccies.
• Hangtime — the time spent airborne — is the key visual element of a winning mark.
• The award is presented at the AFL Awards Ceremony.
• Social media has made Mark of the Year more visible than ever.
• Some clubs have produced multiple Mark of the Year contenders in a single season.

The Rumours

The persistent rumour: player-only voting for Mark of the Year. Has been canvassed; the panel system is preserved.

The other rumour: integrating Mark of the Year with the Norm Smith. The two are kept separate.

The Verdict

The AFL Mark of the Year is footy’s annual high-flying spectacle. It celebrates the part of Australian Rules that no other footy code can match — the contested high-flying speccie, the kid-on-shoulders mark, the boundary-line ground-game leap. From Jesaulenko’s 1970 mark to Mac Andrew’s 2022 debut, every Mark of the Year captures the same magic. Long live the speccie.

Australian Rules is unique in having this kind of award. Soccer doesn’t have a “Header of the Year”. NBA has slam dunks but they’re scripted set pieces. AFL marks happen organically in the run of play, and the spectacular ones are taken at extraordinary heights with knees on shoulders, contested in marking pack situations that wouldn’t be allowed in any other sport. The Mark of the Year captures this athletic theatre annually, and it’s one of the most-watched 30 seconds of any AFL Awards Ceremony.