Jobe Watson: the one-time winner of the 2012 Brownlow Medal. Credit:Getty Images Watson himself is telling people he's unsure of its exact location. Why the mystery? This is a situation that could have quickly and simply been resolved. Some of the biggest figures in the AFL — including chief executive Gillon McLachlan — say they can't understand why the whereabouts of the original medal is an issue. In fact, the AFL is adamant that the location of the medal is of no interest to it.

Happier times: Jobe Watson after winning the medal. Credit:Paul Rovere Early last month, Watson made the AFL Commission's decision a lot easier, when he released a statement relinquishing the medal – a response to the 12-month ban handed to 34 past and present Essendon players who participated in the 2012 supplements saga. In the November statement, he said: "It is with mixed emotions that I have decided to hand back my 2012 Brownlow Medal." The new medallists: Sam Mitchell and Trent Cotchin. That's pretty specific. Yet that has not happened.

The medal has not been handed back, nor has there been a request for it to be returned. The national empathy and compassion afforded Watson is completely justified. He has been the face of the playing group that has been at the centre of the biggest doping scandal in Australian sport. He has displayed tremendous leadership and courage during a time when many have shown ineptitude and spinelessness. The fact that Watson has been stripped of the greatest individual honour in football is a blight on the people and the football club that allowed it to happen.

Stephen Dank, James Hird, Dean Robinson and others should never get over the fact that their irresponsible and abhorrent behaviour has not only irreparably damaged the lives of 34 young men, but it has also robbed a club legend of his Brownlow. But the fact remains – he is now no longer a Brownlow medallist and as such he should no longer be in possession of the medal itself. It would appear that the belief at AFL headquarters is that for them to ask for it back — given what Watson has been through — would be heartless. But after Watson decided – in his own words – to "hand it back" and the commission unanimously voted to give medals to runners-up Sam Mitchell and Trent Cotchin, the medal should have been returned. The fact that there are now three 2012 Brownlow Medals in circulation is a testament to the sheer absurdity of the situation.

If anything, Watson's ongoing possession of the medal only adds lingering discomfort to the scandal. While the AFL, under McLachlan, is understandably sympathetic to Watson's situation, there is still lingering resentment from some people at Essendon that the botched joint investigation between the AFL and ASADA backed the players into a corner. The AFL Tribunal then found there was not enough evidence to prove that the 34 players were injected with the banned drug thymosin Beta-4, which was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after WADA intervened. It goes without saying that these players have been to hell and back. The view is that the players have been through more than enough. To actually ask Watson to give the medal back would be cruel.

Loading Nevertheless, the history books will show that the winners of the 2012 Brownlow Medal were Mitchell and Cotchin, not Watson. For the absolute integrity of the game, that should be reflected in the number of players who have the medal in their possession.