In the August edition of ‘Beyond Regulation’, we take a look at the possible individual award winners for the Women’s and Men’s competitions.

Halls Medal/All Star Five
A couple of months ago, it appeared Tess Madgen had the Halls Medal sewn up. However, she has only appeared in 10 games so far this season, meaning the maximum number of votes she can get is 30. I currently have her down for 26, but looking at the winners of the last six years, that number will not be enough.

Another I thought might have had a chance was Jo Hill, but she has only featured 12 times. Madgen and Hill are two of the three players in the top five for both scoring and rebounding, the other being Forestville’s Olivia Thompson. Like Hill, Thompson has only suited up on 12 occasions.

Tamika Dukes has been outstanding for Centrals and a deserved All Star Five member, but the Lions have won just the one game and it is hard to see her earning the top individual honour solely for that reason.

These facts suggest that this year’s winner will be Norwood’s Jess Foley, who won the Halls in 2011. Foley has once again been the best player on the competition’s best team. I expect Dukes, Thompson, Hill and Madgen to join her in the All Star Five team.

Woollacott Medal/All Star Five
In the men’s competition, it is a similar story with Daniel Johnson and the Woollacott Medal. When Johnson has played, he has been one of the most dominant forces the competition has seen in recent seasons – but four missed games means he has plenty of competition for the league’s number one solo accolade. 

Despite a slow start, expect Darren Ng to poll a lot of votes, which will not help his Warrior teammate Aaron Wyatt. Wyatt has been in great form throughout the year, featuring in all 17 games and only registering two single digit scoring games. The Warriors have won 14 games, with only Steve Pilkington likely to take many votes off Ng and Wyatt, so maybe there is still a chance one or both could be crowned champion.

Forestville’s Adam Doyle appeared to be a great chance a couple of months back, but since Adam Gibson’s arrival, the young Point Guard’s numbers have dropped off. In addition, Jake Rios and Trent Fildes will grab votes off him for their huge scoring games.

At Centrals, Kyle Miller got off to a tremendous start, but has shot the ball poorly in the second half of the year. Given the Lions have won 11 games, maybe Christopher Clausen is in with a chance? It would be intriguing if Clausen did win it, given he is only top five in the league in one category (blocks). However, statistics can be misleading, and there is no disputing his importance to his team. Clausen has played all 17 games, with only one single digit scoring game, and only another two with less than six rebounds.

Sturt has had a number of good players, with Sam Daly, Matthew Dougherty and John Marriott likely to share the load of votes. Southern’s Samuel McDaniel has been excellent, and perhaps a smoky.

My personal pick is North’s player-coach, Pero Vasilijevic. Vasilijevic’s numbers have been generally lower when Anthony Petrie has played, but with eight double-doubles, he has carried his team to within a whisker of another postseason. I think Clausen will be second, but much like last year’s runner-up Howard Salters Jr, will not feature in the All Star Five.

My All Star Five is Doyle, Ng, Wyatt, Vasilijevic and Johnson.

Women’s Coach of the Year

For those who have read every edition of Beyond Regulation, you may have noticed that none of my Teams of the Month have featured a Sturt player? Given the Sabres are favourites to finish second, after coming seventh in 2012, I have no hesitation in nominating Marcus Wong as Coach of the Year. Improvement is the most important thing, and should the Sabres win this week, they will have gone from six wins last year to 13 this season. Woodville has four more wins than in 2012, Sturt’s closest rival in terms of net wins gained. I will give honourable mention here to Simon Pritchard, whose Flames have had an extraordinary undefeated (thus far) season.

Men’s Coach of the Year

There are a number of worthy winners that come to mind here. Al Green has orchestrated the Warriors’ best campaign in the modern era. The Warriors’ premiership in 2005 occurred despite just 12 wins in the regular season. In 2013, they have the chance to finish with 15.

Despite their clubs sitting outside the top five, Sturt’s Tom James-Martin (the 2012 winner) and Southern’s Rashad Tucker have orchestrated successful campaigns for two clubs who were not expected to make much noise this campaign. Even though they were hit harder with players leaving than any other club, James-Martin’s side have gone 8-4 since Round 5, while Tucker’s Tigers are the best Southern team in the last nine years.

All that said, the Central District Lions are the only club likely to finish in the top five whom I did not expect to be there. And so only a Sturt win in Round 18, coupled with a North loss, could change my prediction of Lions Coach Scott Whitmore winning Coach of the Year. The Lions women were revolutionised two years ago when they went from cellar dwellers to the top five, and now it is the men’s turn. The Lions have had a pretty up-and-down season, but will finish with a 6-3 road record, including crucial triumphs over Forestville, North, Sturt and Southern.

Best Defensive Players

Short and sweet. I think Jess Foley is a great chance to take home the double, with Jo Hill her closest rival. I will throw in Forestville’s Tara Robinson as a smoky.

For the men, I cannot nominate the guy who wins every year, former Norwood Captain Todd Matthews (sorry Todd!!), as the D-Legend retired last season. So I will go with Daniel Johnson.