Southern league: Black Rock’s Byron Wright wins Division 3 medal

A Jets footballer has scooped the pool, winning a Southern league medal after kicking the winning goal in a grand final and being awarded the best-on-ground medal.

What a week for Black Rock footy club.

And what a fairytale story for Jets star Byron Wright.

The 27-year-old wrote his name into club history on Sunday when he kicked the winning goal with seconds to go in Black Rock’s pulsating one-point win over Murrumbeena in the SFNL Division 3 grand final.

He was also awarded the best-on-ground medal for his four-goal display.

The good times continued on Wednesday night when Wright was acknowledged as the best player in the competition with the league medal.

That made it three medals in four days.

Black Rock celebrated its first premiership since 2015. Photo: Shannon Lee.

The Western Australian said the league gong was a pleasant surprise.

“I wasn’t even going to tune in and watch it,” he said.

“I normally don’t poll well in the league ones. I don’t know, maybe the umpires liked me a bit more this year.”

Wright kicked 60 goals for Black Rock in 2022 and said he felt like it was one of his best ever seasons.

“I changed roles, going from a midfielder to being a forward so I was able to use my speed and my marking a bit more,” he said.

“Ryan Handley’s coaching and where he played me and the style that we played suited me. I was able to get on the scoreboard.”

Wright formed a potent forward combination with Ned Fallon; between them they fired off 104 goals for the season.

“I think we just gelled well as a forward line,” Wright said.

“We found a way to get everyone kicking goals, if it wasn’t me it was Ned, if it wasn’t Ned it was Joey (Brennan).”

As for THAT goal with 27 seconds to go in the grand final, Wright said: “Time froze. It was literally an out of skin moment.”

He said the left foot snap from 30 wasn’t perfect, but it was certainly effective.

“I bellied it,’’ he said.

“But when you kick it hard it sort of goes where it needs to go.

“I wouldn’t say I hit it sweet.”

Wright said he planned to frame the three medals and “put it in the pool room”.

Coach Handley said it was Black Rock’s lucky day when “Baz” Wright walked into the club in pre-season 2021.

Jets player Taylor Meyer worked with Wright, who was looking for a footy club after moving to Melbourne.

“Baz was the set of steak knives in the deal,’’ Handley said.

“And when we saw him on the track we said, ‘this Baz bloke, he can seriously play’.

“He was originally from Perth, he met a girl here in Melbourne and settled here and the rest is history.

“He’s an unbelievable player, dynamic player, can play anywhere on the ground and he’s electrifying.

“He can take an absolute screamer, kick goals left and right from anywhere and he can break away from packs at speed in the midfield. He’s the complete player.

“He’s another version of Dustin Martin.

“One of the best players I’ve played with for sure.”

Dingley’s Lucas Walmsley. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Meanwhile, it was a second Southern league Division 1 medal for Dingley star Lucas Walmsley, with ex-Frankston VFL captain Luke Potts runner-up. Walmsley first won it in 2014.

Chelsea Heights gun Luke Clark won the Division 2 medal, and will look to make it a dream season by helping the Demons to a premiership on Saturday.

Frankston Dolphin Andy Mather won the Southern league Division 4 medal by polling 44 of a possible 51 votes — and winning by a casual 29.