Wyndhamvale onballer Devan Ellis was a bit “surprised” to take out the Alan Smith Medal for best-and-fairest in the Western Region Football League division 2.
Ellis might have not have expected the honour, but his Falcons’ teammates knew he had a huge chance, having been a massive part of this year’s premiership win.
The Falcons relied on Ellis’s hard work in and under at the stoppages to kickstart their passages of play.
“All the boys thought I had it, but I didn’t think so,” Ellis said. “I’m very happy.”
He won the count with 17 votes, two ahead of West Footscray ruckman Michael Kennedy.
Kennedy was on top of the leaderboard with one round to go, but Ellis polled three votes in the final round against North Footscray to take home the award.
It was the icing on the cake of an unforgettable season for the Falcons, capping the year after their triumph over West Footscray in the grand final. Players can now look ahead to life in top-flight division 1 next season.
“We all know it’s going to be a big challenge,” Ellis said. “We’ve got [to play against] some very good sides. Hopefully, we just win a few games and build from there.”
Parkside midfielder Ben Ashman took home the Ron and Thelma Angwin Medal for best-and-fairest in division 3 in a storming finish from Albanvale’s Sean Blake.
Ashman polled three votes in the penultimate round to take the lead from Blake, who had led most of the way. Ashman finished on 19 votes, taking it out by one.
Parkside has been demoted to division 3 after winning the division 2 flag 12 months ago, after a mass exodus of players in the off-season.
The move was designed to breathe new life into one of the oldest clubs in the competition, rather than having it subjected to triple-figure losses game after game in division 1.
“After everything that happened, it was good to make the grand final,” Ashman said. “It was a good year overall.”
Altona’s Brett Miller is making a habit of taking the spotlight at the WRFL’s night of nights. The Altona veteran took out his fourth consecutive division 1 reserves’ best and fairest.
Miller polled 22 votes to finish nine ahead of Hoppers Crossing’s Michael Nozzolillo.
Wyndhamvale’s Sam Ingham and Caroline Springs’ Michael Saker shared the division 2 reserves’ best-and-fairest, winning the count with 10 votes each.
Wyndham Suns’ onballer Grant Jones claimed the division 3 reserves’ best and fairest for the second year running. Jones was a key component in the Suns’ premiership team, and has now figured prominently in the first open age premierships at two different clubs.
Hoppers Crossing rising star Nathan Williams took out the under-18 division 1 best-and-fairest, while Wyndhamvale’s Liam Scarborough made it back-to-back medals in the under-18 division 2.
