By Kirstie Fitzgerald
Hoppers Crossing tall man Wayde Skipper has become the second Warriors player in the league’s 84-year history to claim top individual honours after taking home the Division One Barry Priest Medal last night.
Skipper is the ninetieth man to receive the league’s premier honour, joining Hoppers Crossing premiership Reserves coach Glen McGaw who won the medal in 2003.
“It’s very humbling,” Skipper said.
“This medal is a sign of the hard work I’ve put into the club this season and I guess a bit of a reward for effort.”
Having played 60 AFL games with the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn and spending three seasons with Port Melbourne in the VFL, Skipper has been a great asset for the young Warriors side since signing with the club at the end of 2013.
Playing 19 games and receiving nine best player mentions this season, his exquisite ruck work also earned him a spot in the Team of the Year, while his ability to go forward and kick 33 goals helped the Warriors reach a Preliminary final.
“I didn’t miss a game this year, and to have the sort of season we had from where we’ve come from was really pleasing, so to win the Priest Medal is a good reward both personally and as a football club,” he said.
Yet the win didn’t come easy, with the lead changing three times from Rounds 12 to 15 as Skipper and Deer Park’s Kwame McHarg wrestled for top spot on the tally board.
Earning three votes in his Round 17 clash against Werribee Districts, Skipper had a small lead going into Round 18, before picking up two votes in the final round to secure the win with 20 votes.
Despite not polling in the last round, Deer Park’s Jack Purton-Smith and Vikings captain Jordan Robbins drew for second spot on 15 votes, while McHarg and Sunshine’s Thomas Miller tied on 14 votes.
2014 Priest Medalist Matthew Dean finished on equal votes with St.Albans star Matt Quigley for eighth place (10 votes), behind Werribee Districts’ Chris Molivas (11 votes) and Spotswood captain Murray Boyd (12 votes).
It was a tight race for Division Two’s best and fairest honours, with Wyndhamvale young-gun Devan Ellis taking home the Alan Smith Medal by two votes, after pipping West Footscray’s Michael Kennedy in the final round.
Despite leading the count after 17 rounds, Kennedy fell short for the second year in a row after failing to poll in Round 18, leaving Ellis to collect three votes in his final match against North Footscray to snatch victory on 17 votes.
Taking home the 2014 Reserve Best and Fairest honours 12 months ago, Parkside’s Benjamin Ashman added another medal to his trophy cabinet after collecting the Division Three Ron and Thelma Angwin Medal.
Trailing behind Albanvale’s Sean Blake on the leader board for most of the night, Ashman picked up three votes in Round 17 to launch himself into top spot on 19 votes, with Blake crowned runners up on 18 votes.
Amongst the other award recipients on the night was Altona’s Brett Miller who made league history after earning his fourth consecutive Division One Reserve best and fairest medal.
Chalking up his 500th game earlier this season, the 36-year-old was a convincing winner polling 22 votes for the night, ahead of second placed Michael Nozzolillo (Hoppers Crossing) on 13 votes.
The Division Two Reserve medal couldn’t be split between Samuel Ingham (Wyndhamvale) and Michael Saker (Caroline Springs) who drew on 10 votes each, while Wyndham Suns star Grant Jones made it back-to-back wins for the Division Three best and fairest.
Wyndhamvale’s Liam Scarborough surpassed his 2014 tally to poll 30 votes this season to take home back-to-back Division Two Under 18 medals, while Hoppers Crossing’s Nathan Williams collected the best and fairest medal for the Division One Under 18 competition.
In other awards, Hoppers Crossing’s Jordan Mead kicked his way to the top of the goal kicking table taking home the 2015 Andrew Gibson Medal (55 goals) while Deer Park rising star Sohrob Ismail capped off his premiership year with the Rookie of the Year Award.
While the night recognises the outstanding achievements on the field, it also acknowledges the hard work seen on the sidelines, with Newport Power club administrator David Grubits awarded the Lindsay Patching Memorial Club Official of the Year Award, while Wyndhamvale’s Tom “The Swamp King” Burns took home the Melbourne Injury Lawyers Unsung Hero Award.
The league’s top umpires were also acknowledged for their work during the season, with Greg Denison (Field) and Paul Battaglia (Goal) winning their third consecutive Umpire of the Year award, while Shaun Weise chalked up his first Umpire of the Year award for his work along the boundary.
For a full list of player votes from season 2015, please click HERE...
Last Modified on 25/09/2015 15:38