Yet another Kyabram footballer who played at the elite level has surfaced.
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A request about a Kyabram footballer playing one game with South Melbourne in 1904 has been investigated and verified after some painstaking research from Kyabram historian Eileen Sullivan.
The search was initiated by Damien Drew who believed the AFL record books had confused a player called Tom Hawkins from Ballarat with a player from Kyabram called Arthur Thomas Hawking, commonly known as ‘Nugget’.
From Eileen’s search it was revealed Arthur Hawking played just the one game at VFL/AFL level, with South Melbourne on July 30, 1904.
In reports at the time, Melbourne papers spoke highly of Hawking’s performance.
The Melbourne Argus reported:
‘‘South Melbourne gave a trial to a smart little fellow from Kyabram who was sent roving.
In strange company he went to work at once, showing none of the diffidence characteristic of the country player and did really well.’’
Hawking’s name first appeared in Kyabram football sides in 1902 and was there up to and including the 1912 season.
He was also an outstanding fireman who excelled at demonstrations.
Through records at the Kyabram cemetery Eileen tracked down that Hawking died in Kyabram on December 15, 1952, aged 70.
Medal eludes Mueller
Kyabram Cricket Club’s gun batsman Kyle Mueller won everything but the Lightfoot Medal at Cricket Shepparton’s awards night last week.
For the home-and-away season Mueller claimed the run aggregate (646 runs at average of 111), the best batting average (107.6) and the Player of the Year in the premier Haisman Shield competition. But he had to be content with equal second place in the most sought-after and prestigious individual award, the Lightfoot Medal.
Katandra all-rounder and new Shepparton Swans Football Club co-coach Jedd Wright claimed the medal with 17 votes from Mueller and Central Park St Brendan’s Tyler Larkin and Numurkah’s Michael Eckard, all with 15 votes.
Nobody would dispute Wright being a worthy winner.
But is the Lightfoot Medal voting system fair?
Through no fault of his or his club, Mueller played one less game than Wright and two less than Larkin during the home-and-away season in which umpires’ votes are allocated for the Lightfoot Medal.
Kyabram’s round two clash with Numurkah was washed out, as was Katandra’s match with Nagambie, but the other games were able to be played and get a result and votes were awarded in the Lightfoot Medal.
It was a similar scenario in round 11 when the Mooroopna-Kyabram game was called off after the Mooroopna wicket was not covered on the Friday night when it rained, forcing the cancellation of the game, the only clash not played in that round.
One solution that may prevent this happening could be to award average umpires’ points gained in the games players have played to their final total.
Mueller and teammate Darin Ohlsen were both named in the Team of the Year while Billy McLay finished third to Waaia’s Jordan Cleeland in the Under-23 Cricketer of Year award.
Kyabram’s Jason Parsons shared the B-grade Young Family Medal with legendary Old Students batsman Gino Sarcacino.
The C-grade Furze Medal went to Invergordon all-rounder Travis Murdoch while the E-grade Barry Ward Medal was claimed by Katandra’s Dillon Shelley.
The Tom O’Halloran Memorial award for the best conducted club was won by Katandra.
GMC award winners
Goulburn Murray Cricket’s major individual award, the Graham Turner Medal, has been claimed for a second time by Echuca’s Matt Hinks.
Hinks shared the award five years ago as a 19-year-old with Tongala all-rounder Adam Nunn and in this season’s version edged out Leitchville-Gunbower’s Tyler Jones and BLU’s star Zimbabwean import Regis Chakabva.
Jones took the Champion Player award.
Hinks, who made 409 runs at average of 58 is also a fast bowler but did little bowling due to a quad injury.
The Under-21 Player of the Year award was won by BLU’s promising batsman Liam Hamilton.
The B-grade award was claimed by Elmore’s James Harney, Stanhope’s Jack Hepburn took the C-grade award while BLU’s Brett Munro took off with the D-grade award.
Echuca’s Sharon Hensen won the A-grade women’s top award.
Lions secretary retires
Seymour Football Netball Club’s legendary secretary has called time.
Gary Brown, 77, is stepping down after a marathon 34 years in the role and earning the reputation of being one of the best in the business at it.
His life memberships of his home club and the GVL have certainly been well-earned and deserving.
And while we’re on Seymour, its footy headquarters at Kings Park recently reopened after last year’s floods and should be ready to go for the start of the GVL season in early April.
Sports reporter