Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal: Jake Riccardi and Marcus Lentini stake a claim for top award
Nineteen of the 30 winners of the prestigious award for the VFL’s most promising player have gone on to play in the AFL. Who will take this year’s Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal? We look at the top contenders.
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Among his many tasks when he was the VFL’s operations manager, John Hook had charge of selecting the Fothergill-Round Medallist as the league’s most promising player.
Asked a week or two before the 2009 presentation if he had picked the winner, Hook shot back: “Sort of, mate — he picked himself.’’
It was Michael Barlow, Werribee’s prolific midfielder.
Denis Pagan’s great mate Jack the blind miner could see Barlow was ticketed for the top tier of football, and he went on to play 141 games across nine seasons, docking with Fremantle, then sunning it at Gold Coast.
A decade on, Barlow is back with the Bees, dominating in the manner he did when he joined the club from Shepparton United.
Talk has turned to this year’s medal (now named the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal to recognise Sam Mitchell’s Liston Trophy-Brownlow Medal double) — and Barlow believes Werribee has one of the best contenders.
Last year it went to Tigers forward Josh Corbett, now at Gold Coast.
This year it could go to another Tiger forward, 19-year-old Jake Riccardi.
The former Calder Cannon linked with Werribee from Calder Cannons and has booted 35 goals in 18 matches, including a big of six against Coburg in Round 18.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by his output — his output has been huge — and that comes off the back of hard work,’’ Barlow was saying at North Port Oval last Tuesday.
“He’s one of the first to training each night, he’s really coachable, he absorbs every bit of information you give him and he does it with a smile.
“He’s got some areas of his game that we’re continually on to him about … probably at times his competitiveness and maintaining that competitiveness for 120 minutes. That can be the transition from junior football when you’re a high-end talent to a man’s game. You just can’t rely on talent.’’
Barlow said the Bees drove Riccardi hard “because we see the scope he potentially has’’.
His strengths?
“His leap,’’ Barlow said.
“When the ball is in front of him he’s really good, when it’s within two metres he can go powerfully through it. And he’s a goalkicker. He hits the scoreboard. He’s got good footy IQ, footy craft. Nick Daffy (Werribee assistant coach) has been doing a lot of work with him around one-on-one contests and he’s really improved in that area.’’
In the now-retired Hook’s mind, Barlow was a clear-cut winner a decade ago, and the same can be said for some other recent winners, including Michael Hibberd (2010), Kane Lambert (2013), Nic Newman (2014), Luke Ryan (2016) and Bayley Fritsch (2017).
This year there is no such standout; the list of contenders looks a little shorter than in previous years, reflecting the fact that so many players have been drafted from the VFL in the past 12 months.
That said, there are some good prospects interesting AFL recruiters and the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal judges.
Coburg midfielder Marcus Lentini shared top billing with Michael Gibbons in the VFL disposal count last year.
He backed it up by sharing the crown this year with Werribee’s Tommy Gribble. Both had 541 possessions, averaging 30.1.
Lentini, 20, could find the ball in a blizzard and his use of it improved in 2019. He also popped up with some goals late in the season.
As Burgers GM Seb Spagnuolo points out, Lentini has played every game since coming out of the Under-18 competition two years ago.
The Lions have other worthy nominations in midfielder Luke Bunker, sparky forward Sam Lowson and key defender Harry Nolan.
Like Lentini, Bunker is a cracking around-the-contest player.
He averaged 24.9 possessions this year and with 149 was third on the league list for tackles.
Lowson was a much-hyped player ahead of the mid-season draft, but suffered an ankle injury just before it and so was overlooked it. He’ll come again.
Nolan is coming, as a key defender adding an attacking element to his defensive traits.
His improvement this year was significant, as Williamstown coach Andy Collins noted in the after-match when the Towners defeated the Lions.
Regularly playing on AFL-listed forwards, he was rarely beaten. He’s made terrific progress at the City Oval.
Collins and the Seagulls have a strong contender in Joel Ottavi, who is off to the state combine.
The 200cm forward/ruckman was with Essendon VFL but his opportunities were scant. Afforded them at stand-alone Willy, he’s taken them.
“He’s developed enormously … gone from strength to strength,’’ Collins said of Ottavi, 23.
“His game against the Northern Blues, when he rucked against Matt Lobbe, Andrew Phillips and Tom De Koning, was superb.
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“He’s incredibly mobile. He reminds me of a young Rowan Marshall. I think four or five clubs have inquired about him so far.’’
The Northern Blues nominated Frank Anderson, the well-regarded Eastern league onballer.
The 22-year-old was named in the best in nine of his 12 matches for the Blues, and was also invited to the state combine.
“I thought he was a bit too much outside when I saw him early (in the season) but he’s fixed that up,’’ one recruiter said of the 2017 South Croydon premiership player.
“He’s got that nice balance now.’’
Footscray Bulldog Anthony Scott is certain to be in the discussion, too.
Formerly with Richmond’s VFL team, Scott crossed to the Doggies this year, played 18 matches, kicked 19 goals and averaged 16.6 disposals.
It would be no surprise if the Bulldogs added him to their AFL rookie list given their success in converting Will Hayes and Billy Gowers from VFL to AFL-listers.
Scott made his reputation with Old Trinity in the VAFA, winning the Rising Star Award in 2014. He was also second in last year’s Premier medal count.
Port Melbourne defenders Harvey Hooper and Cal Searle must also be included in the chances.
Both joined the Borough from Oakleigh Chargers and both have quietly but steadily grown into influential senior players.
An interstate club sent a scout to North Port Oval to watch Searle in a mid-season match and went away impressed. Searle will attend the Rookie Me testing.
Tom Freeman, the son of former St Kilda defender Peter, had an encouraging season for the Casey Demons, who nominated him for the medal.
He’s unlikely to win it but at 20 he’s a player of much promise.
The Fothergill-Round Medal was first presented in 1989 — Preston’s Chris Owen was the inaugural recipient — and 19 winners have gone on to play in the AFL, including the past 13.
This year’s medallist will be announced at the JJ Liston Trophy count next Monday night.