Kyle Martin wins his eighth Noble Park best and fairest award

Legendary local footballer and former Collingwood player Kyle Martin has continued his remarkable run of best and fairest victories.

Kyle Martin with the great Peter Reece.

Noble Park announced its 2021 best and fairest this afternoon.

Of course, Kyle Martin won it.

The former Collingwood AFL player clinched his eighth Peter Reece Medal as Noble’s club champion and in doing so extended his remarkable record in vote counts.

He’s now won the best and fairest in 12 of his past 13 seasons, a run that began at Haileybury College in 2008.

The following year he took Noble Park’s senior award for the first time.

In 2010 he missed a lot of football with an arm injury.

Since then he’s won the best and fairest every year he’s played: with the Bulls in 2011, Frankston VFL in 2012, Collingwood VFL in 2013-14, and Noble Park in 2015, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19 and now ’21 (the 2020 season never heard a starting siren because of Covid).

Kyle Martin with assistant coach Andrew Sharp.

Martin is widely regarded as the best player in local football in Victoria.

He returned to Noble Park in 2015 after turning his back on the AFL.

The right-footer played six AFL games for the Magpies and they wanted to keep him, offering him a position on the rookie list.

But the AFL it wasn’t for him.

“I sort of decided if there wasn’t a primary-list spot it would be tough to go on a rookie list for a third year,’’ he said when he went back to the Bulls.

“It was partly financial but there were a lot mental things with it, just having security and, you know, being on the list and being ready and available to play … waiting for something to happen to you, waiting for the door to open. Sometimes that door might never open. It’s tough, mentally. It can get you down.’’

He added: “Grind is a pretty decent word to use for it. It was very tiring, a lot of hard work. Sometimes when you’re not getting the reward for your hard work you can go off the track a little bit, lose your way.

“In saying that it was also one of the best experiences of my life and I would never change it for anything.’’

Lionel Benoit with Paul “Smiley’’ Brightman.

Jackson Sketcher was runner-up in the 2021 count, as he has been often.

Lionel Benoit won the reserves best and fairest, the Paul Brightman Medal, and Josh Wynen was the Under 19s best and fairest, the David Spence Medal.

Football manager and former star player Steve Coats received life membership.