It’s the ‘problem’ that irked some 1980s footy fans – and now it can be revealed why the AFL premiership trophy doesn’t have the name of the grand final winner engraved just after the final siren.
Melbourne-based badge and medal company Cash’s has been responsible for game day silverware since 1986 – and their methods are old-fashioned.
‘We still make the cup in exactly the same way as when it was first made. So it’s all hand-engraved,” said director Vin Formosa.
‘Many engravings these days are all made on the computer. The Melbourne Cup, for example, which is engraved in a machine.
“We use a contractor…he engraves the cup every year and when we get it back [from the winning team]he also engraves the team name.’
Formosa also stated that the process is meticulous.
“Engraving the cup takes about seven hours,” he said News Corp. ‘You can’t do that in fifteen minutes. It’s just not going to happen.
“You [also] I can’t afford to slip up because then it’s over.”
Rival skippers Lachie Neale of the Brisbane Lions (left) and Dane Rampe of the Sydney Swans with the AFL Premiership Cup – which won’t be engraved on the winning team until well after the final siren
Pop star Katy Perry poses with the Premiership Cup – it comes as she is reportedly being paid $5 million to perform at the MCG in front of more than 100,000 fans on Saturday
As for the Premiership Cup, Formosa has quashed speculation that multiple versions are made each year.
He confirmed the coveted silverware weighs more than 5kg – and requires around ‘100 hours’ of intimate detail before being passed on at the AFL.
“You wouldn’t believe how much effort goes into it,” he said.
‘We keep making it because it is very well known and prestigious. That’s why we keep doing it.’
Remarkably, Formosa does not charge the AFL for his expertise – and the 63-year-old plans to keep lifting the Cup until it becomes physically impossible.
The first bounce of Saturday’s grand final between the Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions kicks off at 2:30pm AEST.
You can follow all the action as it unfolds on the Daily Mail Australia live blog.