2010 Barry Priest Medal Preview
By Kevin Hillier
When a bloke like Doug Hawkins tells you that one of the best players he ever saw never played VFL footy but should have, and speaks of him in the same breath as his boyhood idol Keith Greig, you know you are talking about quality. Steve Thom gushes when he remembers what a great player Barry Priest was. His former coach and great friend John Lloyd makes no bones about the Barry Priest he knew as a player, he was a great of the FDFL.
That is why to have the medal named after this great man draped around your neck is a privilege and honour.
Last year former AFL star Danny Jacobs took the honour and previous winners have included Brad Julier, Rusty Douglas, Jason Clarke, Dean Galea, Sami Sir, Jason Fitzpatrick and Michael Frost. All great players in the west.
Who will take home the award this year? On ballers, midfielders and ruckmen have dominated the award in recent times.
The Division One competition has some outstanding ruckmen in Julier, McGhie, Philpot and at Glenorden Phil Jones has featured in the best nearly every week.
The rovers in this competition are hard, tough and good users of the footy. Former winner Rusty Douglas has had another good season, Chris O’Keefe is very good to watch. The explosive pace, run and skill of Tim Jenkins is always impressive. Reece Miles has been brilliant for Altona.
Looking at the Team of the Year how can you not include Like Sinnott, Ryan Noye, Jack Sims and Michael Lewis who have all had outstanding seasons.
As always it might come down to who takes votes of his teammates and this might cost a Spotswood player the chance to get the medal but when you only loose one game for the year the votes will come.
Are there any smokies? Absolutely, especially from teams like St. Albans, Altona and Hoppers Crossing. The names that have bobbed up in the best players on numerous occasions like Matty Ryan,Jake Mutton and David Mitchell at Hoppers, Alex Vivoda and Dean Pace at Altona. What about ‘Boofa’ McAnulty and Dave McGregor at Port Melbourne Colts or the Nicolaides cousins at Heights.
Could a power forward emulate Dean Galea and Jason Clarke? Mark Keenan has won the Andrew Gibson Medal but Patrick Wiggins and Shaydon Bloomfield have also kicked a lot of goals and player in other parts of the ground.
Remember this is judged on the home and away season.
One thing is for sure, the winner this year will be a top shelf player who will be very comfortable in the company he will join and very deserving of such a huge accolade.
Last Modified on 15/09/2010 23:45