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Bell Post Hill midfielder Matt James settled for third in the count with 20 votes, two votes shy of a second Whitley Medal (2018).<\/p>\n
McLennan pulled off one of the great vote count rallies on the back of an outstanding second half of the campaign, not polling until East Geelong\u2019s Round 8 match against Geelong West, earning best-on-ground honours on the day with his initial three votes of the season.<\/p>\n
McLennan polled again in rounds 10 (3 votes), 11 (3 votes), 13 (3 votes), 14 (2 votes), 16 (3 votes), 17 (2 votes) and 18 (3 votes) to claim the medal in the second final game of the GDFL season.<\/p>\n
Favourites in the lead up were Matt Tyquin (Inverleigh) and Will Ford (Bell Post Hill), who was ineligible due to suspension, placed 11th<\/sup> and 14th<\/sup> respectively with 13 votes and 12 votes.<\/p>\n Bannockburn\u2019s Kieran Fulton impressed on the night with 19 votes to finish fourth, three votes off the pace, while Corio star Joel Bennett snared 18 votes to round out the top five, capping off one of the closest Whitley medal counts in GDFL history.<\/p>\n Dale Lappin completed the double for East Geelong, claiming the Ivan Tansing Medal in the reserves competition with 26 votes, five votes ahead of Bannockburn\u2019s Matt Watts who finished on 21.<\/p>\n East Geelong\u2019s success continued throughout the night with Eagles head coach Ben Boseley announced as Coach of the Year.<\/p>\n Eagles\u2019 Tim McLennan (ruck), Ryan Rich (back), Tom Cordner-Maas (centre line), Ryan Lempa (half-forward), Jake Watson-Serle (half-forward) and John McIntyre (interchange) all made Team of the Season selections reflecting a season that led to a minor premiership.<\/p>\n Inverleigh had four names added to the team headed by player-coach Adam Donohue (half-back), Matt Tyquin (follower), Luke Wilson (interchange) and Jack Fiolet (half-back) donned with the vice-captaincy of the team.<\/p>\n Bell Post Hill\u2019s Beau McNamara (back), Will Ford (forward) and 2021 co-Whitley medal winner Dylan Witney (follower) made the squad of 22.<\/p>\n Bannockburn was represented by Dan Measures (back), last year\u2019s co-Whitley medal winner Jack Brauman (centre line) and Keiran Fulton (half-forward), whereas Michael Leamer (half-back) and Blake Dye (forward) both carried Geelong West\u2019s name.<\/p>\n Team of the season captain Joel Bennett (Corio), Brent Jacques (Belmont), Daniel Freeman (Thomson) and Tyler Crennan (Werribee Centrals) were the only ones from their clubs to make the group.<\/p>\n Here is the top-10 list of vote-getters on the night:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2022\/08\/2H3A2110-300x200.jpg\")