A crowd of 200 packed into the Swan Room at the Merrylands RSL (Major Sponsor of the Club) on Saturday for the Goannas 2015 Gray Medal and Presentation night. It was also a 25 year reunion of the 1990 Premiership team and officials. The evening was MC'd by TV & Radio host Russell Barwick, who actually played with the Goannas, winning the Club's Under 20 Best & fairest award in 1983, as well as playing in their Premiership that year. It was difficult to get proceedings underway at the scheduled time of 7.30 pm, as players and friends came together for the first time in a few weeks, and some of the 1990 players and officials having not seen each other since that famous 7 point win over North Shore 25 years ago! President Rob Mannion welcomed all in attendance, which included the Mayor of Holroyd, Greg Cummings and his wife Debbie, the president of the Merrylands RSL Club, Mr Ron Hand and his wife Shirley, Mr Ken Gray Senior, representing the Gray family (whom the Senior Best & Fairest Medal is named after), 1989 Phelan Medalist and 1990 Premiership player Michael Porta, former Sydney Swan, 1990 Gray Medalist & Premiership player, Neil Brunton, as well as representatives from the Goannas 14 other Sponsors.
The team awards were first cab off the rank, and then the crowd were provided with an impressive slide show which gave an updated scoreboard of player voting in all teams at the Round 12 mark of the Season. A sensational meal, provided by the Merrylands RSL staff was enjoyed, as the excitement grew leading up to the major awards.
Life membership was awarded to Robert Altorjay and Andrew Munns, and the John "JB" Barker Clubman award was won by Peter Taylor.
The Under 19 Best & Fairest was taken out by Hart Medalist Mitchell Sapiatzer on 32 votes ahead of Luke Mansour on 17. In the Thirds (Division 5), Brett Rizzo won the Best & Fairest with 20 votes and Mahir Wagle was not far behind in the voting on 15. The Goannas Reserves (Division 4) Best & Fairest ended in a tie when Jordan Pidgeon and Adam Byrne both finished on 29 votes. Andrew Munns finished just behind them with 26 votes.
Before the Gray Medal final voting was done, the Goannnas 1990 Premiership team was brought up onto the stage and presented with a replica 1990 jumper, DVD of the Grand Final and a copy of the Footy Record from that fantastic day! It was emotional stuff, and later (most) of the team were able to squeeze into their jumpers, and with Premiership flag taken down from the wall, sang the Club song with gusto on the stage, many in the crowd joining in!
The Gray Medal is awarded annually to the Seniors Best & Fairest player of the Parramatta Goannas Australian Football Club. It is named in recognition of the outstanding and sustained contribution of the Gray family to the Club since its foundation in 1979.
The Gray Medal voting rounded out the night, and the clear winner was 20 year old midfielder Arin Rickett, son of Peter "Bear" Rickett who is a Goannas Life Member, Hall of Famer, 2 time Premiership player, and triple Gray Medalist (1984, 1985 and 1986). Arin had a sensational season and was rewarded by having the Gray Medal placed around his neck by Ken Gray Senior. Arin is a product of the Goannas Junior AFL Club and won the Under 18 Best & Fairest just 2 years ago. He is a courageous player who gives 100% every time he pulls on the blue and gold jumper. A fantastic player to watch.
Arin Rickett's win was a great finish to a fantastic night, and again we would like to thank our Sponsors for their continued support in 2015 - Merrylands RSL Club, Rossfreight Express, HTT Management, Crown On McCredie Hotel, Mr Taxman, Cash Converters Blacktown, Value H2O, Satsuma, Road Runner Rubber Supplies, Stratton Finance, Quigley's Quality Meats, Salmon Bros, Aceit Sportswear, Townzy's Cafe and Nolan's Plumbing Services.
Last Modified on 02/11/2015 09:13
