EFL 2018: Andrew Ainger delivers star performance in grand final to win Cliff Tomkins/Blue Ribbon Medal
VERMONT spearhead Andrew Ainger capped off a September to remember after booting five goals in the Division 1 grand final to give the Eagles their first premiership in nine years.
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IT was a fitting way for star Vermont forward Andrew Ainger to end his season.
The former SANFL spearhead entered September as the form player of the competition, duly delivering an Eastern Football League finals campaign to remember.
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Ainger had five goals by halfway through the second quarter in Saturday’s Division 1 grand final against South Croydon as the Eagles established an unassailable 58-point halftime lead at Bayswater Oval.
He finished with 5.2 to be awarded the Cliff Tomkins/Blue Ribbon Medal as the best afield.
The 30-year-old finished with 45 goals for the year — 21 of those came in the last four games of the season.
In three of those games he was listed as Vermont’s best player. In the semi-final he was adjudged second-best.
Vermont coach Harmit Singh rated Ainger’s finish to the season as the best stretch of form he had seen from a local footballer.
“His last five, six weeks have been as good any player I’ve seen play local footy,” Singh said.
“He has been fantastic, just a wonderful guy … he gives me everything and I hardly rotated him today.”
Ainger arrived at Terrara Rd as one of two marquee forwards over the summer, also joined by former Port Adelaide forward Brett Eddy.
While early in the season Eddy was tracking to kick a century of goals, it was Ainger that came to life at the business end of the season after overcoming a broken nose and hamstring injury during the year.
“I just thought if I could get some consistent games I felt like I would get confidence,” Ainger said.
“I guess I was able to do that as the season went on but the last month I was able to play more consistent footy and I guess that helped a lot.
“The feeling today, how good is it? It’s so good.”
Ainger called time on his 105-game SANFL career with Woodville-West Torrens at the end of 2016 after two losing grand finals.
He arrived at Vermont after the Eagles had suffered two consecutive grand final defeats but delivered on the league’s biggest day to help end a nine-year premiership drought.
“It’s awesome to see those guys get the reward they deserve,” Ainger said.
“It was a tough pre-season and we set ourselves for this and we got the opportunity to win it and it has been awesome.”
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