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IT TOOK until the second-to-last round of voting for Gemma Stavenhuiter to put last night\u2019s (Wednesday, August 31) Margaret Webb Medal count beyond doubt.<\/p>\n
However, Winchelsea\u2019s first league best-and-fairest winner is keeping her focus on the task at hand with a Preliminary Final against Werribee Centrals less than 48 hours away.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a really humbling feeling and I\u2019m really loving this moment,\u201d Stavenhuiter said after winning the medal.<\/p>\n
“Individual accolades are nice, but we\u2019ve still got a couple weeks left of finals, hopefully, so fingers crossed the amount of hard work we\u2019ve put into this season can pay off in a couple of Saturdays\u2019 time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s the start of a really good Winchelsea run, if I\u2019m honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stavenhuiter tallied a stellar 27 votes on the night, edging out Thomson\u2019s Emma Witham by two votes (25 votes) and Amanda O\u2019Malley (23 votes) of Werribee Centrals.<\/p>\n
The Blues keeper polled in 11 rounds on her way to the medal win, during a season where Winchelsea accrued the third-fewest goals against over the 2022 season (586).<\/p>\n
\u201cDefensively, we have had a great year,\u201d Stavenhuiter said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe realised as a team that we need to put in defensive work all over the court, it\u2019s not just Connie [Royal] and me doing the work, it\u2019s everybody putting the pressure on as the ball heads down the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis season the work of others has made our jobs a lot easier, and it makes us look a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stavenhuiter, previously with the Portarlington Demons, shifted her netball skills to the Surf Coast after a \u201crough\u201d couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic, a move she was glad she made.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeammate and coach Casey Carroll messaged me to come down to a session at the start of the year to see how I\u2019d like it, and my first session was so great.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone was there for the same reasons, the same drive, we just connected,\u201d Stavenhuiter said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never actually been at a club like Winchelsea with so much support – week in, week out whether it\u2019s home or away, there are always Winchelsea locals, family and friends, that are there to support us.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes such a difference, particularly in finals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blues defender Connie Royal finished the count in ninth with 16 votes next to her name, while Winchelsea\u2019s Melody Philpott, Casey Carroll, Meg Royal and Stavenhuiter received Team of the Year selections.<\/p>\n
Top 10 vote-getters in the Margaret Webb Medal count:<\/p>\n
1 Gemma Stavenuiter (Winchelsea) \u2013 27 votes
\n2 Emma Witham (Thomson) \u2013 25 votes
\n3 Amanda O\u2019Malley (Werribee Centrals) \u2013 23 votes
\n3 Kelsey Whyte (Inverleigh) \u2013 23 votes
\n5 Angelique Ross (Belmont) \u2013 19 votes
\n5 Rebecca Lebish (Thomson) \u2013 19 votes
\n7 Ashleigh Cushion (East Geelong) \u2013 18 votes
\n8 Alanna Cottrill (East Geelong) \u2013 17 votes
\n9 Connie Royal (Winchelsea) \u2013 16 votes
\n10 Ally Bamford (Corio) \u2013 15 votes<\/p>\n
The GDNL Team of the Year, led by co-coaches Casey Carroll (Winchelsea) and Justine Radford (East Geelong), and assistant coach David Boyce (East Geelong):<\/p>\n