GFNL awards: Doyle Madigan wins Mathieson Medal as Ellen Doyle and Eliza Cahill tie for netball best-and-fairest

Another Swan has taken out the Mathieson Medal, but he was overlooked for another honour. And there was a tie in the A-grade netball best-and-fairest. All the GFNL awards here.

Doyle Madigan won the 2024 Mathieson Medal. Picture: AFL Barwon

South Barwon has recorded a Doyle medal double at the Geelong Football Netball League awards, with Doyle Madigan and Ellen Doyle claiming league best-and-fairest honours.

Doyle shared the stage with Colac star Eliza Cahill as joint winners of the netball prize, while Madigan took out the Mathieson Medal with 19 votes, two clear of Geelong West ball-magnet Tanner Lovell.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE TOP 10s AND TEAMS OF THE YEAR

The Giants midfielder’s seven appearances for Geelong VFL likely cost him the medal, polling 17 votes in just 14 games.

Madigan was a consistent performer for the Swans all year through the midfield, named in the best in 13 of his 21 games and averaging 23 disposals, 11 contested possessions, seven tackles and 103.7 Premier Data ranking points.

His medal win comes a year after his teammates Fraser Fort and Marr Caldow were joint winners of the 2023 Mathieson Medal.

Doyle Madigan has won the Mathieson Medal.

Howver, Madigan was nowhere to be seen in the GFNL team of the year, which

has six players from St Joseph’s and four from St Mary’s.

Madigan felt initially a team of the year nod might have been the reason why he was invited to the awards night in the first place.

Instead, he finished the night with the medal around his Mathieson Medal around his neck — the last thing he expected coming into the night.

“An absolute shock, when the halfway votes popped up and I just see my name up there. I knew I had a pretty good year and I was pretty happy with it, but to be up there at the end at the finish at the end it just didn’t really cross my mind at all to be honest,” Madigan said.

“(Missing out on team of the year) is completely out of my hands, in the end I thought maybe I’d snuck into a bench spot before the medal was in, and then when I didn’t get into that I was a bit like, ‘maybe I am up there in the medal’.

“I was a little bit shook by it, but now I’ve won it.”

The 24-year-old had a simple goal to win more of the Sherrin this season, and the neat distributor upped his disposal numbers to 23 per game.

An injury to Swans midfielder Sam James also forced him to step up and fill the void.

“I feel like this year it was just, talking to ‘Neeldy’ in pre-season, it was about getting more of the football,” Madigan said.

“So I think I have slowly started to get my numbers up there a little bit more in terms of the stats because there is so many good ball-winners in this comp that put up massive numbers. “

But what matters most to Madigan is a South Barwon premiership.

Madigan and his Swans teammates will face off in a grand final rematch against Leopold on Friday, vying to reverse the result of last year’s decider.

“Obviously last year wasn’t the way we wanted to end and we have worked hard all year. We’ve had our games that we’ve lost but when our season’s on the line, that’s when our best footy sort of presents itself,” Madigan said.

Cahill was similarly stunned to be a joint A Grade winner with sharpshooter Doyle, who claimed her second gong in three seasons.

South Barwon's Ellen Doyle and Colac's Eliza tied for the A-Grade best-and-fairest. Picture: AFL Barwon

“In shock when my name came up on the leaderboard count at round 10 or whatever I was in absolute shock, I didn’t think that’d be me – I’m just a girl from Colac,” Cahill said.

“I didn’t expect to be up there on the leaderboard so high, so it was really exciting to see my name up there.

A two-time premiership winner with Colac, Cahill had had stepped away from Geelong Cougars to focus on her nursing degree.

She has secured a job in Geelong, but she will be there with the Tigers next season to to propel them to more success after bowing out in the finals this year.

“Super hungry, especially with B-grade being in the finals this year. I have really missed that prep leading into finals that those girls are doing. Having them going to training still and us not be there, it sucks. I’d love to be back in that position again next year hopefully which would be exciting,” Cahill said.

“Maybe I might want to try some more rep stuff later on down the track.

“I have accepted a job in Geelong so we will see what happens over the summer.

“I will do a bit of travel up and down the highway, it is not too bad. I will stay in Colac for another year and see what happens after that.”

Meanwhile Bell Park’s Hamish Dawson claimed the Allthorpe Medal as the reserves best-and-fairest, while Colac’s Jessie Lang won the B grade netball league best-and-fairest.

Colac and Geelong VFL forward Tobyn Murray, who attracted AFL mid-season draft interest this year, and Holly Adams-Alcock were adjudged as the rookies of the year.

Tobyn Murray took out the GFNL rookie of the year award. Picture: AFL Barwon

FOOTBALL AWARDS

MATHIESON MEDAL TOP 10

1 Doyle Madigan (SB) 19

2 Tanner Lovell (GWG) 17

3 Lachlan Patten (BP) 15

Eq 3rd Marcus Thompson (LEO) 15

5 Darcy Lang (COL) 14

Eq 5th Jack Buckley (STJ) 14

Eq 5th Zachary Zdybel (COL) 14

8 Emmanuel Ajang (GWG) 13

Eq 8th Joe Maishman (STM) 13

10 Adam Garner (COL) 12

Eq 10th Harry Benson (STM) 12

Eq 10th Paddy De Grandi (STJ) 12

Eq 10th Ryan Abbott (GRO) 12

NETBALL AWARDS

A GRADE NETBALL VOTING

1 Eliza Cahill (COL) 20

Eq 1st Ellen Doyle (SB) 20

3 Aleisha McDonald (GWG) 18

4 Elli Leydin (STJ) 17

Eq 4th Ruby Pekin (N&C) 17

6 Karina Martin (GWG) 16

Eq 6th Tori Honner (STJ) 16

8 Eloise Maddox (SB) 15

Eq 8th Julia Woolley (N&C) 15

10 Esther Kidmas (GRO) 14

Hotshots: Ellen Doyle

Rising Star of the Year: Holly Adams-Alcock (Newtown & Chillwell)

Originally published as GFNL awards: Doyle Madigan wins Mathieson Medal as Ellen Doyle and Eliza Cahill tie for netball best-and-fairest