“Caught by surprise”: Seagulls skipper stunned by best and fairest nod

BARWON Heads captain Luke Davis said he did not imagine Wednesday night’s Bellarine Football Netball League Awards Night would end with him receiving the competition’s biggest honour, the Les Ash Medal.

But he graciously pointed to team-mate Oliver Wiltshire and said the young midfielder was just as, if not more, worthy of receiving the coveted award.

Davis came out of nowhere to secure 20 votes during the 2023 BFL season.

With Drysdale midfielder Ben Fennell’s 22 votes ruled ineligible as a result of an on-field incident in Round 17, Davis became the first ruckman in four years to win the Les Ash Medal.

“I haven’t really felt any emotions yet, to be honest, because I was just caught by surprise, which is why I went straight to Ollie during my speech,” Davis said.

“In terms of where the award ranks in my career, I’d much rather be playing for flags in September, so I haven’t really put this into perspective at all.

“It’s not something I have really fought for or thought of, maybe I’ll reflect on it in a few years’ time, but at this point I don’t really know.”

The Seagull was named best on ground in Round 2 against Portarlington to get his season under way, before adding two more votes the following weekend against Geelong Amateur.

Davis lodged votes in Round 4 (two votes), Round 5 (one vote), and Round 6 (one vote), before snagging back-to-back best-on-grounds in Round 8 against Queenscliff and in Round 9 against Anglesea.

He polled three times in the second half of the season for Barwon Heads to take his total to 20 votes, one vote more than Torquay forward Lucas Anderson, who finished runner-up.

“Ollie is just one example of the players around me who have really shone in 2023 and there are multiple other guys I could name, like Harrison King and Ryley Stuhldreier, and even just the forwards and the backs like Kyle Polley, who just consistently play good footy,” Davis said.

“That’s what I try to do, come in and help a team that’s already really successful and help the guys around me get a lot better.”

Davis returned to his junior club in 2023 after almost 10 years at South Barwon in the Geelong Football League, and is the eighth Les Ash Medal recipient in the Seagulls’ history .

“Growing up in Barwon Heads we were never really that strong, so over the years we built a bit of a battler feel where it was us against the other clubs like Torquay, Ammos and Ocean Grove,” he said.

“There’s a great sense of community around us with some great volunteers, some of which have been there for 10, 20, 30 years, but being a small community, you really want to come back and give back to the club and the people who put so much time into it.

“I’m looking forward to more success in years to come.”

Davis, Polley, King, and Wiltshire all featured in the 2023 Team of the Season.