Strong season: Tongala captain Kyle Fitzgerald finished high in the Murray Football League’s O’Dwyer Medal voting. First past the post was Numurkah’s ineligible star Jamason Daniels, with the award going to Jackson Gash.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Tongala captain Kyle Fitzgerald finished third in the Murray Football League’s O’Dwyer Medal count after ineligible Numurkah star Jamason Daniels was a clear leading vote catcher for the season.
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Daniels polled 33 votes, among the best three players on the ground in 13 games, and finished 10 votes clear of the eventual winner — Mulwala’s Jackson Gash.
Gash’s 23 votes came from 11 games, finishing the count ahead of Nathalia’s Bailey Bell, Congupna’s Daniel Schaper and Mulwala star Matthew Gorman.
B-grade’s best: Tongala’s Abby Nexhip (right) was named the joint Murray league netball B-grade best and fairest, with Natalie Ferguson.
Fitzgerald polled four best on grounds to poll in the top three of the count, with former winner Coby McCarthy (also ineligible) behind him with seven votes.
– Tongala reserves co-coach Sam Tyler polled 13 votes in the reserves’ best and fairest, enough to five him equal fourth place.
Moama’s Fraser Buchanan won the award with 16 votes.
The next best-performing Tongala player was energetic ruckman Tom Puke (seven votes).
– A-grade netball star Corey Drennan finished with 18 votes in the vote count, 14 behind the runaway winner — Deniliquin’s Rhiannon Maxwell.
She was the only Tongala player to finish in the top dozen.
– Abbey Nexhip was the dual winner of the B-grade best and fairest award.
The Tongala star polled 25 votes to tie with Mulwala’s Natalie Ferguson.
She achieved the feat despite having teammates Georgia Watt (18 votes) and Paige Wage (15 votes) inside the top 10 vote catchers.
C-grade champ: Ashlee Watson with the spoils of winning the C-grade Murray League netball best-and-fairest award.
– Ashlee Watson made it a double for the club when she won the C-grade netball Murray league best and fairest award, polling 29 votes to win by four.
She also had stiff competition from a teammate as Tracey Hughes finished third in the count with 22 votes.
– Tongala had three names on the leader board in the C-reserve count.
Connie Blake topped the club’s count with 16 votes — 17 votes behind the Numurkah winner Andrea Holmes.
Sarah Halliwell (14 votes) and Kelsea Gordon (12 votes) were also among the top players for season 2023.
— In the Under-17s, Jessica Hooper from Tongala finished in the top 10 with 22 votes, finishing eight behind eventual winner Abby Larkin of Moama.
— Under-13s star Isla White, daughter of A-grade player Alicia, finished fifth in her division with 22 votes, 17 behind the runaway winner from Rumbalara, Zioni Garling-Mathyssen.
Mackenzie Donaldson was the next best Tongala player in the count with 15 votes.
– James Coulson polled 12 votes in the Under-17s count, two ahead of teammate Jessie Johnstone.
The pair was well behind runaway winner Lucas Roberts from Cobram.
Roberts polled 36 votes to win from Numurkah’s Nicholas Hughes (26 votes) and Rumbalara’s Brogan McGee (24).
In the Under-14s, Moama’s Frederick Peat polled 35 votes to win the award by a vote from Van Kreeck of Mulwala.
Tongala’s Hugo Monnich Vo was the top vote catcher for his team with 15 votes, ahead of Lachlan Nevill.
– Inside next week’s Free Press will be a complete wrap of the Murray league grand finals and match details of the three Tongala netball grand finals.
