2005 Club Best & Fairests

[CyberKev]

As of today (29/9), 4 AFL club B & F counts have been run and won...

Richmond
1st = Joel Bowden
2nd = Matthew Richardson
3rd = Shane Tuck

No arguments about any of these, with all 3 players having superb years. Tuck would be the most improved player in the AFL and actually went into the count as favourite! I feel for big Richo who has ben the heart & soul of the club for sometime now and so deserves to have a B&F on his mantlepiece. I really thought this would be his year, but well done to Bowden nevertheless. He is a fine footballer whose skill of a defensive flank is behind many a Tiger counterattack.

Carlton
1st = Anthony Koutifides
2nd = Nick Stevens
3rd = Lance Whitnall

Whitnall did well in a struggling side when moved down back and should carry this form over when, as is expected, he moves to the Demons for 2006. Nick Stevens provides good run and was back to something near his best Port Adelaide form this season. Koutifides was always going to clean-up here though, and more power to him. Injuries have cruelly curtailed his career, but he has battled through it and succeeded in getting back on top of his game. Top footballer.

Melbourne
1st = Travis Johnstone
2nd = Russell Robertson
3rd = Aaron Davey

Davey still hasn't got me convinced, but there is something mercurial about him, I suppose. Robertson is a very dangerous and unsung forward who was very unlucky to miss out on AA selection after putting in a fine season. No surprises with Johnstone winning though. He cops a lot of flack from people outside the club, but his speed and ball usage are fabulous, and I've longed to have him at Hawthorn for some years now.

St Kilda
1st = Luke Ball & Steven Baker
3rd = Lenny Hayes

A big surprise at St Kilda, where I was expecting Dal Santo & Hayes to fight out amongst themselves for the prize. Hayes finished his best year to date in third spot, with Dal Santo only slightly behind in fourth. Ball is a fine player and possibly the most courageous in the competition, but -- for mine -- he hasd a better season last season. Baker has obviously reaped reward for his application and work ethic, but his win here was a turn-up, to say the least.


Congratulations to all five winners.

 

[meltiger]

Baker is a dog - Much better players at that club.


All the other results don't suprise me - Joely deserved his (Although would love to see Matty win one someday), Kouta, Johnstone, Ball all deserved winners.

 

[CyberKev]

At Essendon, the following trifecta has come in...

Essendon
1st = Jason Johnson
2nd = Mark Johnson
3rd = Brent Stanton

A big effort from Stanton who was one of the more impressive youngsters going around the competition in 2005. Its difficult for me to say anything nice about Mark Johnson, but I suppose it won't kill me to say that he had a solid year. I've always had plenty of time for Jason Johnson, on the other hand, and his second B&F win was well deserved given the effort he puts in trying to keep a subpar midfield going forward. The big surprise here was Dustin Fletcher's inability to nail a place.

 

[CyberKev]

From the other clubs...

Geelong:
1st = Joel Corey
2nd = Matthew Scarlett
3rd = Gary Ablett Jr

Strong year from Corey who continues to bolster his reputation in what would arguably be the most even side in the competition. Scarlett follows up his win last year with second place, and remains clearly one of the top defenders in the league. Ablett Jr cops plenty of flak from outside of Geelong, but he remains one player I'd love to have at Hawthorn, and he will only get better from here.

Adelaide:
1st = Simon Goodwin
2nd = Nathan Bassett
3rd = Ben Rutten

A trio of unsung winners at the most unsung club going around. Goodwin just keeps on keeping on, head down and bum up getting the pill and working away at the opposition. You scarcely realise Bassett is on the paddock, but he is rarely bested, and was a key component in the competition's best defense across 2005. Rutten has really bolted from the blue and will enter 2006 as the game's premier fullback, which is no mean feat for his age!

Collingwood:
1st = James Clement
2nd = Brodie Holland
3rd = Shane Wakelin

I don't have any problem with this running order, although this would surely represent the most low-key B & F trio for 2005. Clement continues to haunt Fremantle by being one of the safest defenders around and is very worthy of back to back awards. Holland and Wakelin would be best described as honest toilers, but in an injury-hit season they're the type of players who will generally get the lollies.

Sydney:
1st = Brett Kirk
2nd = Barry Hall
3rd = Craig Bolton

I was surprised that Hall was considered the pre-count favourite, as for mine, Kirk was always going to run away with it. Fantastic player is Brett and it made for fascinating reading that he was headed out of the club under Eade. Hall is Hall and he will always give you good value, amazing fitness, strength and workrate. Craig Bolton is hardly at home in such illustrious company, but he does typify the work ethic at play in this side and is making the most of a second chance at a second club.

West Coast:
1st = Ben Cousins
2nd = Dean Cox
3rd = Chad Fletcher

No surprises here, with the newly-minted Brownlow medallist becoming the most decorated individual in Eagles history with his fourth win. Dean Cox ran a very strong second, having established himself as the game's top ruckman during the year. Chad Fletcher lives much in the shadow of the other Eagles' midfielders, but his value to the side is clearly evidenced by his placing here.

Western Bulldogs:
1st = Scott West
2nd = Daniel Cross
3rd = Lindsay Gilbee

Geez, we're getting up into haloed Skilton/Matthews territory here with West, who now has 7 best & fairests to his name during a glittering career with the Hounds! This would be as good as any of the others, given that I had a sneaking suspicion he was all but gone a year or two back. Cross and Gilbee are two fine youngsters on whom the Bulldogs are staking their medium to long-term future, and they do appear in good hands in this regard.

Brisbane:
1st = Jason Akermanis
2nd = Chris Johnson
3rd = Jed Adcock

How the bloody hell did Akermanis miss out on a wing gig in the AA side??!! I thought his year was as good as any he has put in and when things were particularly bleak for the Lions he was still running strong and showing his class. He probably also got ripped-off by not winning goal of the year, but that's a whole other argument! Chris Johnson seems to have been around forever, and its fair to say that he wouldn't have been required to do this sort of workload in defence for awhile. Adcock is a young gun who will be important to the club as it attempts to reshape after its recent era of dominance.

Hawthorn:
1st = Luke Hodge
2nd = Peter Everitt
3rd = Shane Crawford

Hodge predictably smashed the field, polling votes in 20 out of 21 matches, and displaying form that may well have won a Brownlow at a club that had won a few more games. It was pretty much same old same old from Everitt & Crawford, although I was surprised that Croad missed a place and Mitchell would have placed but for injury. In reality, there was little separating 2nd from 10th in what was every bit Hodge's year.

Fremantle:
1st = Matthew Pavlich
2nd = Peter Bell & Shane Parker

In a similar vein, Pavlich ran amok at Freo, almost doubling the votes tallied by Bell & Parker who shared second spot. Pavlich has always been a class footballer, but he took it up a notch this year, and would probably bring in more than any other player in the comp if placed on the open market tomorrow. Bell is a champ too, and should serve as a cautionart tale for those recruiters who are so unwise as to write-off promising youngsters for being too small for AFL football. Parker is well behind both these guys in talent terms, but he is honest and hard working.

Kangaroos:
1st = Brent Harvey
2nd = Shannon Grant
3rd = Glen Archer

I really thought Grant would nail it, with his class showing out across half forward for the Roos in 2005. Not so, and its no surprise to see Harvey popping-up at the head of the list, giving that he is forever popping-up everywhere across the park during games. Archer is Archer, and while I keep expecting him to call it quits, he'll probably play on til he is 40!

Port Adelaide
1st = Warren Tredrea
2nd = Kane Cornes
3rd = Domenic Cassisi

Tredrea had a much better season last season, but was still good enough to win in a season that saw Port fall from grace. Both Cornes are much maligned, but they always give good value. Cassisi, plugs away and deserved to place in a side that lacked commitment to workrate across the season.