CHRIS Cain was in no mood to celebrate one of the highest accolades bestowed on a Peter Jackson VFL player.
Cain was named as the recipient of the Frank Johnson Medal for the best VFL player in a representative match.
He joins current Port Melbourne captain John Baird, who won the Medal last year, as well as Robin Nahas (2007) and Steven Lawrence (2004) as Port Melbourne players to win the Frank Johnson Medal
Despite his herculean efforts – he collected a team high 32 disposals and was forever trying to lift his teammates over a resolute opposition – Cain was devastated that the VFL had coughed up a 31-point lead midway through the third quarter.
Cain described as “nice” the Frank Johnson Medal, but was quick to note it would have been much better to come away with a win.
He said he was “pleased” to have a run in the midfield, but the taste of defeat lingered.
“Obviously, a win is what everyone is all about,” Cain said.
“We were looking pretty good early on, we probably needed just a couple more goals on top of that and it might have been a different story.
“We gave away too many free kicks and they came back at us really hard.”
Cain noted the transition from end to end was frenetic and that took its toll on the VFL late in the match.
“I think we just ran out of legs a little bit,” he said.
“In the last 10 minutes they were just able to run harder to contests.”
Cain said the injury to ruckman Michael Sikora was crucial as he had been in dominant form early in the match.
“He was awesome early, he was winning every tap,” Cain said.
“As soon as he went down, we had to go more defensive than we would have liked.”
It should not take the gloss of his game or the honour of the Frank Johnson Medal.
It is a medal struck in recognition of one of the greatest ever players in the competition’s history.
Consider the achievements of Johnson, who like Cain, was a Port Melbourne player who set new standards.
Johnson played eight seasons for Port Melbourne from 1950 to 57. During that eight year period he won five best and fairests and he represented the VFA every year he played at the Borough.
More significantly, he was named an All Australian in 1953 and ’56 and in 2008 he was inducted to the AFL Hall Of Fame – the only VFA player to be honoured by the AFL.
While he may not feel like it at the moment, Cain can reflect proudly on winning a Medal named in honour of a competition great.
Last Modified on 15/05/2013 14:27