BY NATHAN DOLE
Murphy, English claim footy medals
GISBORNE’S Jacob Murphy and Sandhurst’s Jack English were victorious in this season’s race for fairest and best in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo FNL’s reserves and under-18s competitions.
The calling of the cards was done on Monday night via Radio Fresh fm 101.5 and on Facebook.
A gun midfielder for Gisborne, Murphy claimed the Alan McDonald Medal for a second time.
A streak of maxium six votes in the last six rounds of the home-and-away series meant he was a runaway winner of the award on 25 votes.
Murphy and his team-mates marked a win-loss record of 14-2 as they finished the home-and-away series on top of the ladder.
The Alan McDonald Medal which honours South Bendigo’s legendary coach of the 1950s has gone Gisborne’s way the past three seasons.
In 2022 it was Jacob Murphy and team-mate Boyd Nalder who tied for the award.
Last season Nalder’s ruckwork caught the umpires attention as he was outright winner of the medal.
A year on and it’s Murphy who will be presented with the medal again at this Sunday night’s Michelsen Medal and Betty Thompson vote count at Bendigo Club.
Runner-up for the Alan McDonald Medal was Sandhurst’s Jed Zimmer on 15 votes.
Murphy and Zimmer have plenty more to play for.
This Saturday it will be Gisborne taking on Strathfieldsaye in the preliminary final.
Zimmer and his Dragons’ team-mates were first to the grand final after they beat Gisborne in the second semi-final.
It was a dramatic finish to calling of the cards by Kylie Ellis for the George Symons Medal for the under-18s fairest and best.
Sandhurst’s Jack English added his name to the honour board as he clinched victory by a vote from Golden Square’s Melvic Pambai.
Playing midfield, Jack English made a brilliant start to Sandhurst’s season.
By the fifth round of the season, English was on 11 votes after being adjudged best afield in rounds one, four and five.
The consistency of the Dragons’ young gun was to the fore as he polled votes in 11 of 16 matches.
A streak from rounds 13-17 netted eight votes.
A vote in the round 17 match against Strathfieldsaye clinched the medal win.
A first-year player at Golden Square, Melvic Pambai was runner-up for the award on 23 votes.
The competition’s top two in the Symons Medal were opponents in last Saturday’s second semi-final in which Sandhurst won 33-31.
The Jarrod Bateson-coached Dragons will take on the winner of next Saturday’s preliminary final between Golden Square and Gisborne in the grand final.
First presented in 1969, the George Symons Medal honours a legendary figure of Golden Square.
Previous winners of the medal include Eaglehawk’s Rod Ashman, Sandhurst rover Peter Tyack who later dominated for South Bendigo, and Golden Square’s Nathan Brown.
Several of the Bendigo FNL’s award winners were announced on Monday night and will be presented at the Michelsen Medal and Betty Thompson Medal event on Sunday.
Castlemaine’s Ryan Eyre capped a great season with the Magpies by earning the Bart ‘n Print Rising Star award.
In his first season with the club, Eyre played six senior matches as a mix of midfield and forward.
He also played two VFL matches with Essendon, and eight for Calder Calders in the Coates Talent League.
Eyre ranked second in disposal for Castlemaine on 27 per game.
The other Rising Star finalists were Maryborough’s Kaian Constable; Sandhurst’s Ollie Morris and Dayten Uerata; South Bendigo’s Zaydn Lockwood; and Strathfieldsaye’s Malik Gordon.
Golden Square’s Ricky Monti was adjudged by the coaches as Bendigo’s best in the inter-league clash with the Victorian Amateurs in Brighton.
The David McCann Champion Club award again went to Sandhurst on 111 points.
Clubs earn a point for each win.
A key player in Sandhurst’s charge to the top in senior footy was gun forward Fergus Greene.
A tally of 80 goals in his comeback to the den after stints at AFL level with Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn earned Greene the Ron Best Medal as the Bendigo FNL’s leading goalkicker.
The goalkicking awards were sponsored by Coffee Storm.
Gisborne’s Hayden Doricic kicked 36 goals to lead the race in the Drummond Golf reserves competition.
A tally of 48 goals put Sandhurst’s Oscar Cail on top in the Sportspower under-18s.