It was a busy night for club champions across the league on Friday night with Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood Melbourne all hosting their best and fairest awards.
Some close races took place amongst each club, however the end results didn’t differ too much from what was anticipated.
See the results for the four clubs below:
Brisbane
Lachie Neale won his third Merrett-Murray medal, becoming only the fifth Lion to have won three or more Brisbane B&Fs.
Neale finished with 66 votes, seven more than the second-placed Hugh McCluggage (59), with Brandon Starcevich rounding out the top three with 51 votes.
This trio also received other awards on the night, with Neale claiming the Finals Player Award, McCluggage taking out the Marcus Ashcroft Most Professional Player Award, and Starcevich being named Shaun Hart Trademark Player of the Year.
Additionally, Darcy Wilmot was named Rookie of the Year, Oscar McInerney the Players’ Player of the Year, and Ryan Lester and James Tunstill sharing Brisbane’s VFL B&F.
Merret-Murray Medal Top 10 for 2022
1. Lachie Neale - 66
2. Hugh McCluggage – 59
3. Brandon Starcevich – 51
=4. Harris Andrews – 46
=4. Charlie Cameron – 46
6. Jarrod Berry – 43
7. Daniel Rich – 41
8. Lincoln McCarthy – 40
9. Oscar McInerney – 39
10. Zac Bailey - 38
Carlton
Patrick Cripps took out the John Nicholls Medal as the Blues’ best and fairest, capping off an incredible season for the Brownlow Medallist.
The superstar midfielder polled 181 votes to edge ahead of Sam Docherty (173), with last year’s winner Sam Walsh rounding out the podium with 163.
This is Cripps’ fourth John Nicholls Medal, having also won in 2015, 2018 and 2019, tying him with Bruce Doull for second all-time, with only John Nicholls (five) himself holding more Carlton B&Fs.
Cripps cleaned up with several other awards, also receiving the Coaches Award, Players’ Award, The Carltonians Award and the Bill Lanyon Inner Blue Ruthless Award.
Other award winners on the night include Sam Docherty who won the Spirit of Carlton Award, Corey Durdin, who was named Best Young Player, and Nic Newman, receiving the Best Clubman Award.
John Nicholls Medal Top 10 for 2022
1. Patrick Cripps - 181
2. Sam Docherty - 173
3. Sam Walsh - 163
4. Charlie Curnow - 149
5. George Hewett - 125
6. Adam Saad - 124
7. Harry McKay - 123
8. Zac Fisher - 117
9. Matt Kennedy - 111
10. Adam Cerra - 105
Collingwood
Jack Crisp has gone back-to-back as Collingwood’s best and fairest, becoming the 24th player in club history to win multiple Copeland Trophies.
The star Magpie polled 291 votes to take out the award, finishing ahead of captain Scott Pendlebury (276) and vice-captain Darcy Moore (269).
Standout young gun Nick Daicos finished seventh in B&F voting with 258 votes, also claiming the Harry Collier trophy for best first year player.
Other award winners of the night included Brody Mihocek, the leading goalkicker, Beau McCreery, who won the Gavin Brown Award for pressure, Brayden Maynard being named best clubman, and Finlay Macrae taking out the Magpies’ VFL best and fairest.
Copeland Trophy Top 10 for 2022
1. Jack Crisp - 291 votes
2. Scott Pendlebury - 276
3. Darcy Moore - 269
4. Jeremy Howe - 266
5. Steele Sidebottom- - 265
6. Patrick Lipinski - 259
7. Nick Daicos - 258
=8. Josh Daicos - 249
=8. Brayden Maynard - 249
10. Jordan De Goey – 231
Melbourne
Clayton Oliver claimed Melbourne’s best and fairest, becoming a four-time Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy winner in his seven-year career.
He is only the third Demon to achieve this feat, standing alongside Allan La Fontain and Jim Stynes.
Oliver was the clear winner of the award, with his 608 votes putting him 55 ahead of fellow star Christian Petracca (553), joined on the podium by Steven May (473).
Other awards were also won, with Luke Dunstan being named Melbourne’s VFL B&F, Jack Viney, securing the James McDonald Trophy for club values, Ben Brown taking out the club ambassador award, Jake Bowey winning the Harold Ball Memorial Trophy for best young player, Angus Brayshaw claiming the leadership award, and Tom Sparrow taking out the coaches award.
Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy Top 10
1. Clayton Oliver - 608
2. Christian Petracca - 553
3. Steven May - 473
4. Jack Viney - 471
5. Angus Brayshaw - 446
6. Max Gawn - 430
7. Bayley Fritsch - 395
8. Kysaiah Pickett - 391
9. Alex Neal-Bullen - 384
10. Ed Langdon - 367