Benson wins Mathieson Medal, Sheringham and Honner share top A Grade honour

ST MARY’S had plenty of success on both an individual and a collective scale as one of their own was rewarded with the prestigious Mathieson Medal to cap off an exemplary GFNL Awards Night.

The annual GFNL Awards Night went ahead in a virtual format last night (Wednesday, September 8), despite the GFNL finals being put on hold following the latest Victorian COVID-19 lockdown.

The event followed similar steps to the BFNL’s awards night, which was held a couple of weeks ago.

St Mary’s midfielder Harry Benson was the clear-cut winner of the coveted Mathieson Medal, the first from the club to win the award since 2010 after Ben Lavars earned the honour.

Benson ran away with the vote count, tallying 26 votes throughout the 2021 season, nine more than St Joseph’s Jordan Keras (17 votes) who placed second. St Mary’s also came out victorious in the Club Championship Award this season.

Last night’s Mathieson Medal winner was well recognised by his peers as he also won the K rock MVP Award, voted on by all senior footballers.

There were two winners in the A Grade netball best and fairest, with Kaitlyn Sheringham (Bell Park) and Victoria Honner (St Joseph’s) jointly finishing on top.

Both players tallied 11 points apiece, while Colac’s Brooke Allan was just behind on 10 points.

St Joseph’s continued their good form on the night with two of their reserves players sharing the Allthorpe Medal. Lachlan Devine and Jarred Jans both earned 12 points each.

The night also named the best players across both sports according to position. Here’s the GFL Team of the Season, 2021 led by St Mary’s co-coaches Travis Robertson and Glenn Keast:

• Backs: Stephen Bensted (Bell Park), Jack Melican (Colac) and Liam McCarthy (Colac)
• Half Backs: Ben Lloyd (Bell Park), Daniel Weigl (Lara) and Jack Driver (South Barwon)
• Ruck: Trent West (Leopold) Ruck Rover: Harry Benson (St Mary’s) and Rover: David Handley (Geelong West Giants)
• Wing: Nick Dixon (North Shore), Centre: Jordan Keras (St Joseph’s) and Wing: Lachlan Patten (Bell Park) (Captain)
• Half Forwards: Jonathan Simpkin (Colac), Mitch Day (Lara) and Cam Tudor (St Joseph’s)
• Forwards: Andrew Boseley (South Barwon), Tom Gillet (Grovedale) and Adam Garner (Colac)
• Interchange: Ryan Abbott (Grovedale), Josh Jaska (St Mary’s), Luke Hillman (Colac) and Jack Blood (St Mary’s).

The GNL Team of the Season was also named, led by Newtown and Chilwell coach Jason Woolley:

• Shooters: Jane Cook (St Albans), Ellen Doyle (South Barwon) and Julia Woolley (Newtown & Chilwell)
• Centre Courters: Vanessa Augustini (Newtown & Chilwell), Kaitlyn Sheringham (Bell Park), Emily Post (St Josephs) and Jessica Leader (Geelong West Giants)
• Defenders: Brooke Allan (Colac), Victoria Honner (St Josephs) and Melissa Oloamanu (Newtown & Chilwell).

Attention from both sports now looks ahead to potential announcements regarding the GFNL’s Return to Play with the hope that announcements made by the Victorian Government are made soon that allow both footballers and netballers to complete their seasons.