My Two Cents: Why Harry wanted to meet Will on Magarey Medal stage | Andrew Capel
He broke the SANFL’s Magarey Medal ruck curse but Norwood’s Harry Boyd didn’t want a single vote in the final round of the count. Andrew Capel reveals why.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
“I didn’t want a vote in the last game.’’
With those words, Norwood ruckman Harry Boyd summed up his enormous respect for Sturt counterpart Will Snelling.
“With what he’s done this year and the challenges he’s faced, not only as a footballer but also as a person, to be able to share it with him is a great honour and I’m happy to be called a joint Magarey Medallist with Will Snelling,’’ Boyd said after an emotional count at Adelaide Oval on Monday night.
In one of the most thrilling Magarey Medal counts ever, Boyd and Snelling entered the final round level on 34 votes.
Sturt’s Round 19 votes against Adelaide were read first and the midfield ball magnet failed to poll in the Double Blues’ hard-fought 14-point win.
Boyd knew he couldn’t lose but he – and an anxious Snelling – were left holding their breath as the final votes were called from the Norwood-Eagles clash, which the Redlegs won by 75 points to claim the minor premiership by percentage.
Like Snelling, he failed to poll after having a tough battle with Eagles giant Jarrad Redden.
It was the perfect result, with the two players who dominated the SANFL minor round this season jointly crowned as the state league competition’s fairest and most brilliant players.
By winning, Boyd broke the Magarey’s ruck curse.
The 26-year-old became the first ruckman since Port Adelaide’s Ryan O’Connor in 2001 to win the medal and only the second in 73 years.
The previous ruck winner was Norwood’s Team of the Century ruckman John Marriott in 1951.
Snelling’s win was just as popular.
The 27-year-old – a 2015 West Adelaide premiership player – claimed the medal in his first season at Sturt and just two months after the sudden death of his dad and greatest supporter, Paul.
An emotional Snelling dedicated his medal win to his dad and said sharing the medal with Boyd was “really fitting’’.
“Given what’s transpired, I think it’s great that I played a stinker in that last game,’’ he said with a laugh.
“It is a really fitting result. I had a bit of a lead there towards the end but I knew, given what a quality player Harry is, that he would come home with a wet sail.
“To be able to share the medal with him is incredible.’’
The pair’s 34 votes were the highest in a medal count since 1985 when voting reverted to the current system when a player can earn a maximum of three votes a game.
Prior to this year, the highest winning totals since 1985 were 29 by South Adelaide’s Mark Naley in 1991 and Sturt’s Zane Kirkwood in 2014.
In dominating this year’s count, Boyd polled in 14 of his 18 games, earning eight first, four second and two third preferences.
Snelling polled in 13 of his 16 matches, attracting eight first and five second preferences.
He said he had been riding an emotional rollercoaster since his dad’s shock passing and that in the immediate aftermath “footy was my only release’’.
“It’s hard to put words to it all,’’ Snelling said.
“It was really daunting going back to the club (he missed two games following his dad’s death) but as soon as I got back there everyone was amazing and really got me out of a bit of a hole.
“The club was a bit of a safe haven for me.’’
The diminutive, 175cm Snelling said his dad would be proud of his medal win.
“He’s always been proud and I think he would be really proud about this, I think it reflects how much work he put into me,’’ he said.
“I like telling people how he never missed a game. In my five years in Melbourne (with AFL club Essendon from 2019-23) he would either drive or fly over every weekend to be there to watch.
“Sometimes he wouldn’t even see me. He would just watch me play and then drive home, which would make me annoyed with him.
“In my entire career I reckon he would have missed less than 10 games, including during Covid.
“He’s a massive loss and football’s not the same without him and I have felt that in the past few weeks.
“Emotionally it’s been really taxing, really tough, but I’m just really happy to be able to share this with the rest of the family because they’ve helped keep me upright in the past month or so. Winning the medal is a collective effort.’’
While Boyd didn’t have to overcome the same emotional ordeal as Snelling, his story is still remarkable.
The 198cm Shepparton boy, who joined Norwood in 2021 from Goulburn Valley League club Shepparton to link up with Bears premiership teammate Nik Rokahr at The Parade, broke the ruckman’s Magarey hoodoo despite being told in his under-18s and VFL days that he was “too short to be a ruckman’’.
“I was constantly told that,’’ he said, adding that he had become resigned to being a key defender.
“I had Max Lynch (former Collingwood and Hawthorn ruckman) and (Port Adelaide’s) Esava Ratugolea in my Murray Bushrangers under-18s team and it was only when they were out with other commitments that I could play in the ruck.
“I initially moved to Norwood thinking my best state league position would be as a key defender but the club had Jack Heard, Cam Ball and a number of other good defenders, so I thought maybe my best spot would be as a key forward.
“An opportunity presented itself in the ruck when (lead ruckman) Michael Knoll went down with injury and I did okay in a semi-final against South Adelaide and showed it could be my position.
“I was able to prepare for 2022 as a ruckman and haven’t looked back since.’’
Boyd led the Redlegs to the 2022 premiership, winning the Jack Oatey Medal as best afield in their thrilling one-point grand final win against North Adelaide.
Now he is a Magarey Medallist and has another grand final to look forward to after Norwood crushed Central District by 59 points in last Sunday’s second semi-final.
“I have to pinch myself to believe what’s unfolded,’’ he said, adding his competitiveness came from his mum, Carolyn, and their intense backyard table tennis battles when he was a kid.
In a nice piece of symmetry, 2022 premiership teammate and great friend Rokahr, the man who initiated his move to The Parade, won the WAFL’s Sandover Medal on the same night as he claimed the Magarey.
In his first season with Swan Districts, Rokahr also was a joint winner, tying with Claremont’s Callan England on 19 votes.
“I had a crack at VFL footy for two years as a 19, 20-year-old and walked away from that thinking I would never play state league footy again,’’ Boyd said.
“Then Covid happened (putting Victorian football on hold), an opportunity presented itself over here, so I thought I would give it a crack. But not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this outcome.’’
NUMBERS GAME
34
Votes that Norwood’s Harry Boyd and Sturt’s Will Snelling recorded to win this year’s SANFL Magarey Medal – the highest since 1985.
0
Carlton’s quarter-time score in the AFL elimination final against Brisbane – the first scoreless opening term for a team in a VFL-AFL final since 1974 when North Melbourne failed to score in its semi-final against Richmond.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“We have to live with the facts. We were beaten badly in all facets of the game – not one part, all parts.’’– Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley after the 84-point qualifying final loss to Geelong.
“Finals footy is pretty fun.’’– Hawthorn captain James Sicily after the 37-point elimination final win against the Western Bulldogs.
More Coverage
Maiden: Albo needs to tiptoe very carefully on US tariffs
Facing an election and a hot serve of tariff madness, Anthony Albanese now has an 800-pound political gorilla roaming the world stage wearing a Donald Trump suit, writes Samantha Maiden.
Lucy in the sky with new horizons: SA pilot’s deep impact
You might think flying a Black Hawk helicopter over bushfires was enough adventure for one person.