EFNL 2021: Liam Kidd claims second consecutive league best and fairest

Teammates are calling him ‘Bradbury’ after South Belgrave skipper Liam Kidd won the league’s Division 2 medal in extraordinary circumstances.

South Belgrave’s Liam Kidd has claimed back-to-back league medals. Picture: Field of View Sports Photography

The race for the Eastern league’s Division 2 medal proved as tight as the season that had preceded it – and just as unpredictable.

South Belgrave’s Liam Kidd took out the honour on Sunday – the Paul Edie Medal – his second consecutive league best and fairest after winning the Division 3 crown in 2019.

The Saints captain finished on 10 votes to claim this year’s prize – but it wasn’t as clear cut as his runaway win two years ago.

Liam Kidd won the 2019 Division 3 medal by a runaway eight votes. Picture: Davis Harrigan

Teammate Tim Smith finished on top at the end of the count with 11 votes after a season which netted a leading 33 goals from 10 matches and team of the year selection.

In a bizarre twist, the ex-AFL and VFL Demon was ineligible, after he was handed a one-match ban during the season for what the league deemed as inappropriate footwear worn in a match. The club twice appealed the tribunal’s decision – but to no avail.

For Kidd, his win comes as a surprise – with a side of banter from teammates.

The midfielder polled in seven of his 10 matches, while missing two of the Saints’ games. He didn’t poll the full three in any match, but received two votes on three occasions.

But it was a solitary vote received for the final match that edged the South Belgrave captain ahead of a field of six others tied on nine votes.

Josh Adams, Jayden Gee and Nick Hallo (The Basin), Mitch Jackson and Trent Farmer (Ringwood) and Ryan Burleigh (Heathmont) finished equal runners-up. Heathmont’s Campbell Evans was next, on eight votes.

“A lot of the boys have called me ‘Bradbury’, getting in at the last second, (and) it didn’t take them long at all to come up with that nickname,” Kidd said.

“To be honest it (the medal) was a bit of a surprise.

“I didn’t think I had the best year … I missed a couple of games with concussion throughout the year.

“Tim’s a quality player, to have someone of his calibre down at the football club, he’s really good to play with, the boys are learning a lot and he’s put a lot into the club.

“Unfortunate result for him because he wore the wrong boots and he got reported for that. It is what it is.”

Kidd led South Belgrave to the 2019 flag in Division 3. Picture: Davis Harrigan

Kidd said the hurdles of an interrupted season added to the significance of winning the medal.

He would still go running “three or four times a week” during lockdowns and head to the oval for a kick when permitted, in a year where he was named captain of his division’s team of the year for a second consecutive season.

“I hold myself to a pretty high standard with the way I train. We’ve (my partner and I) just had a baby so I’ve had my hands full this year, but most of my running I was doing at about 4-4.30 in the morning before work,” Kidd said.

“It does feel good to win and I’m very grateful for the year, but it has been a challenging one, being captain of the club as well, it does take a toll.

“It (the 2021 medal) didn’t have the same feeling as 2019, don’t get me wrong but I probably put this one higher on the list purely because of the year that we have had.”

Kidd thanked his teammates, club volunteers, coaching staff, senior coach Luke Galliott, the league, and fiancé, Ellie.

“I’ve spent a fair bit of time at the footy club and training, so a big credit to her (Ellie) juggling everything,” Kidd said.

“We’re a tight-knit group (at South Belgrave), we keep in touch and we hold each other accountable … next year, fingers crossed everything goes to plan with playing a full season.”