Tomorrow night at the Civic Centre will see the name of another EDFA footballer added to the list of the winners of the competition’s greatest individual honour, the Hepburn Medal.
The result is expected to be keenly contested until the final round of votes, reflecting the close nature of this EDFA season.
Minor premiers Gibson will be well-represented on the leaderboard after losing only two home and away matches for the season.
Former medalist Patch Jannings (2019) has been a consistent player for the Tigers this season although Gibson play a team-first brand of football with multiple individual standouts each week, which will share the votes around.
Hamish Jannings, Sam Johnston (24 goals), Kaden Brown and Torin Pechar performances are sure to have caught the umpire’s eye this season.
Esperance’s hopes of a fifth straight Hepburn Medal winner will lie in the form of previous winners Shannon Nelson (2015), Brendon White (2018,2020) and Kaine Buckley (2021,2022).
Esperance forward Matt Harding takes a strong contested mark in front of his Gibson opposition. Harding kicked two goals as the Bulldogs travelled to Gibson and defeated the Tigers by 25 points in Saturday’s qualifying final. Esperance will now await the winner of the preliminary final between Gibson and Newtown-Condingup as the Lions accounted for Ports in the elimination final by 20 points at a wet and windy Newtown Oval on Sunday.
Returning to the club this season from Railways in the GFL, Nelson was accurate in front of goals kicking 31 for the season whereas White, returning from Bridgetown in the LSWFL, has been a welcomed addition back into the Bulldogs midfield.
For Ports, former WAFL (East Fremantle) player Tim Bockman is likely to poll well, despite missing three matches throughout the season.
The impressive left footer saved his best games for the competition playing against Esperance including a best on ground performance collecting the ANZAC day medal in their round one clash, three goals in round seven and a four-goal haul in round ten.
Riley Mayfield returned from Subiaco, picking up accolades at both the Colts carnivals this season as his strong presence for the Blues is likely to be recognised.
Also returning to the EDFA after a stint at Subiaco and Kalgoorlie in 2023, captain and 2022 runner-up Regan Morris is a proven vote getter for Newtown-Condingup despite the Lions challenging season as vice-captain Jevan Tholstrup had his most consistent season to date, kicking 21 goals.
Featured image: Ports ruck Chloe Seivwright kicks the ball forward for the Bluebirds on Saturday. Seivwright’s team won through to the grand final next week, winning by a point 5.4(34) to 5.3(33) after extra time was needed to separate the sides in the qualifying final. Gibson will now face Newtown-Condingup in the preliminary final as the Lions held on to defeat Esperance three points to one on Sunday in the elimination final.
