GFL Team of the Year, Mathieson Medal, and Best and Fairest votes after round 9 of the 2022 season
As GFL teams prepare themselves for the run home to finals, the footy experts at the Addy have picked the Mathieson Medal and best and fairest favourites, as well as current team of the year.
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As teams jostle for ladder supremacy across the GFL, votes are continuously being polled for a number of awards.
Find out who is leading your club’s best and fairest at the halfway point of the season, as well as the front runners for the Mathieson Medal.
Plus, break down the Geelong Advertiser’s Team of the Year as the season hits the second half.
See the players’ stats from the most recent round of the GFL here.
Find out where they are ranked against the competition’s best players in the GFL Power Rankings here.
Break down the round’s statistic leaders here.
Read about the GFL’s future stars in the top 50 players 22 and under here.
Best and Fairest Leaders
Votes for each side’s best and fairest have been tallied using the top five best on grounds, as nominated by each team at the end of their respective games.
Each side applies a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 voting system, with five votes going to the best performer as judged by the coaching staff.
Bell Park
Star forward Lachie Patten is leading the charge at Bell Park, with the midfielder polling 20 votes from the opening nine rounds.
His partner in crime, young gun Hamish Lucas, is not far behind on 16 votes, while skipper Jackson Bright has 12 to slot into third place.
Colac
It is an even race in Colac, with co-coach Darcy Lang on 15 votes after nine weeks.
Jarryn McCormack has polled 13 to trail in a tight race, while Lachlan Simpkin and Ben McCarthy have both polled 12 votes each.
Key forward Adam Garner and Jesse Williamson have both cracked double digits, with 10 votes each.
Geelong West
Midfield sensation Baxter Mensch will be a Mathieson Medal smoky in 2022 after a superb start to the season.
Mensch has polled 25 votes for the Giants’ best and fairest count, but will have to rely on the umpires favour to poll strongly in the league’s count.
VFL-listed Noah Gribble is second with 16 votes, while ruck Tylar Watts and Jake Wood have 12 each.
Grovedale
Tiger Mitch Chafer is leading all comers at Grovedale, polling 27 votes to hold a eight-vote lead over Jak Tute.
Tute, on 19 votes, has a slim lead over Tim Delaney (18) and Flynn Young (14).
Lara
Youngster Connor Linehan-Cunningham holds a six-vote lead at the top of Lara’s tally.
The midfielder has polled 23 votes, with Billy Goodwin on 17 votes in second place.
Goal kicker Mitch Day has 15 votes, while Jayson Tomicic has 12 and Kane Higgins has 10.
Leopold
Captain Marcus Thompson is leading Leopold from the front, polling 23 votes through the opening nine rounds.
Goal kicker Mitch Patten is just two votes behind on 21 votes, while midfielder Brock Williamson has 18.
Sam Hughes has also cracked double figures, with 10 votes to his name.
Newtown & Chilwell
The Eagles have spread responsibilities in 2022, with ruck Cameron Wilkinson leading with 14 votes.
Full forward Lachlan Bond has 12 votes after polling two five-vote games to start the season, but his forward-line teammate Jai Sheahan has closed the gap and sits on 11 votes.
Sheahan shares third spot with Mitch Diamond on 11 votes, while Matthew McMahon has 10.
North Shore
Co-coach Nick Dixon could miss the second half of the season and would still have a great chance of winning North Shore’s best and fairest.
He has currently polled 40 votes, with Phillip Bellchambers on 12 votes for second.
Brad Gerrard and Sam Witherden has 11 votes to tie for third spot.
Dixon will challenge for the Mathieson Medal this season, but may need to drag the Seagulls over the line for a few more wins.
South Barwon
Youngster Doyle Madigan and Sam James have polled the most votes for the Swans so far this season, currently tied sitting on 19 through nine rounds.
Ruck Luke Davis has 16 votes and is in third place, while Lachlan Noble has 13 votes.
St Albans
Young star Sam Donegan has put together a fantastic debut season for the Supersaints, polling 33 votes through nine rounds.
Brock McDonald has 15 votes for second place, while Jacob Russell holds third place with 12 votes.
Jordan Lyons has also cracked double digits, sitting on 10 votes after nine weeks.
St Joseph’s
Anzac Day medallist James Gow has polled 31 votes for St Joseph’s this season so far, with Alex Hickey in second place on 13 votes.
Brant Haintz has 11 votes after nine weeks, enough to slot into third spot for St Joseph’s best and fairest.
St Mary’s
St Mary’s has plenty of talent on its list, with captain Jack Blood edging out a Mathieson Medal favourite to lead the team’s best and fairest count.
Blood has 22 votes, two ahead of Harry Benson and Max Augerinos on 20 votes, while key forward and ruck Nick Nott has 19 votes to slot into fourth place.
Mathieson Medal count
At the halfway point of the season, the Mathieson Medal seems to have three clear front runners.
St Mary’s star Harry Benson was widely tipped in the pre-season to claim the award for the second season in a row, and the Saint has not done much to dissuade voters.
Benson is averaging 31.6 disposals (15.1 contested), along with 10.3 tackles per game, and has kicked 5.8 for the season as well.
His teammate Max Augerinos has put together a strong campaign as well, averaging 25.6 disposals, 4.6 marks, 4.9 inside 50s and 4.5 tackles per game.
North Shore co-coach Nick Dixon has played outstanding football, but there are questions surrounding his ability to poll at the count.
Dixon leads the league for total disposals, averaging 37.8 per game, along with 14.2 contested possessions, 4.3 marks, 4.5 inside 50s and 5.4 tackles.
But North Shore’s current record of 3-6 may hurt Dixon’s chances, with the star midfielder potentially missing votes in losses, like the games against the Eagles (Dixon had 49 disposals) and the Lions (Dixon had 36 disposals, 11 tackles and a goal).
Geelong West’s Baxter Mensch will be in a better position than Dixon, with the Giants currently 5-4 and sitting sixth on the ladder.
Mensch has consistently found himself near the ball, averaging 33 disposals per game.
He should poll maximum votes in wins against Grovedale (37 disposals, five marks, three tackles, one goal), Lara (38 disposals, eight marks, two tackles), and Colac (36 disposals, 11 marks, four tackles, one goal).
St Joseph’s James Gow and Leopold’s Marcus Thompson will poll well in the opening half of the season as both sides edge towards finals.
Joeys currently sit in fifth spot while the Lions occupy fourth, with Gow and Thompson being influential in winning games.
Gow is averaging 23.5 disposals per game, and should poll three votes in wins against South Barwon and Lara, as well as potentially getting on the board against St Mary’s and Grovedale.
He did miss round 1, which may hurt his polling chances but considering most players will eventually miss games with Covid and the flu decimating teams, it may not be a factor.
Thompson, who is averaging 32.6 disposals per contest for the Lions, should poll well in wins against South Barwon, North Shore, Lara and Geelong West, and might get a vote in the loss to Newtown & Chilwell.
Lachie Patten has been Bell Park’s best player and will poll well in the Dragons’ wins, but at 3-6 there might not be many opportunities to get his name read out.
Geelong Advertiser’s Halfway Team of the Year
Back Pocket: Sam Witherden (North Shore)
Witherden has played half the season in the back line, before moving into the midfield.
He has averaged 22.8 disposals per game for the Seagulls, as well as 4.8 marks and 4.3 inside 50s.
Full Back: Jarryn McCormack (Colac)
Jarryn McCormack has been a force for Colac in 2022.
The key back has averaged 23.4 disposals and 8.1 marks per game in 2022, while also playing on the competition’s premier big men as well as pinch hitting in the ruck on occasion.
Back Pocket: Jack Leonard (North Shore)
North Shore’s rebounding back has had a busy year in 2022.
Leonard has averaged 23.5 disposals per game for North Shore this season, including a 38-disposal, nine-mark game in round 7 against St Albans.
Half Back Flank: Luke Webb (St Joseph’s)
Webb will not hold onto his position in the halfway-point team of the year after injuring his AC joint and potentially missing the rest of the season.
Before his injury, Webb was averaging 23.4 disposals per game and was the Joeys’ main outlet from defence.
Centre Half Back: Jack Driver (South Barwon)
South Barwon’s centre half back has been a consistent performer for the Swans despite inconsistent team performances.
Driver has averaged 19.8 disposals per game, including 31 disposals in round 9 against Colac.
He has also recorded 7.3 marks, 2.7 inside 50s and 1.8 tackles per game in 2022.
Half Back Flank: Lachlan Simpkin (Colac)
Simpkin has been Colac’s attacking back flank in 2022, averaging 23.1 disposals and 8.3 marks per game this season.
He has also averaged 1.9 inside 50s and 2.2 tackles per game for the Tigers.
Wing: Doyle Madigan (South Barwon)
The light-footed Madigan spends a fair bit of time on the inside of the contest, but his quick turn of pace would suit a wing role in the team of the year.
Madigan has averaged 22.7 disposals per game for the Swans, and is currently tied at the top of South Barwon’s best and fairest.
Ruck: Luke Davis (South Barwon)
Davis holds the title as the best ruck through the first nine weeks of the season, but he is not holding a strong lead.
The Swan has recorded the most hit outs this season with 36.7 per game, just slightly ahead of Newtown & Chilwell’s Cameron Wilkinson (35.7) and Bell Park’s Luke Goetz (33.2)
He is also averaging 19.3 disposals per game for South Barwon.
Rover: Harry Benson (St Mary’s)
A Mathieson Medal favourite, Benson has been devastating and consistent through nine rounds in 2022.
The Saint is averaging 31.6 disposals per contest, along with 11.4 tackles and nearly a goal a game.
His work rate around the ground is fantastic, with sides unable to properly tag the superstar because of his ability to cover the ground and still have the explosion to burst away from the contest.
Rover: Nick Dixon (North Shore)
Dixon is the competition’s leading ball winner, averaging 37.8 disposals per game in 2022.
He has only recorded less than 30 disposals once, which was 29 touches in round 3.
The North Shore co-coach will be a Mathieson Medal fancy at the end of the season if the Seagulls can secure enough wins, with the side 3-6 at the halfway point.
Centre: Baxter Mensch (Geelong West)
Mensch is one of the front runners for the Mathieson Medal after an outstanding season in the charcoal and orange.
The inside midfielder is averaging 33 disposals per game for the Giants, with seven 30+ disposal games from nine outings.
Wing: Max Augerinos (St Mary’s)
Augerinos has spent time on the back flank, in the centre and on a wing for the reigning premiers in 2022.
It does not matter where he plays his football, Augerinos finds plenty of the ball and uses it well.
He is averaging 25.6 disposals per game, as well as 4.6 marks and has slotted six goals for the season.
Half Forward Flank: Mitch Chafer (Grovedale)
Chafer has been an important piece of Grovedale’s forward structure.
He has averaged 16.7 disposals per game, as well as slotting 20 goals from his nine outings.
Only once has he been kept goalless, and he has had four games with at least three goals.
Centre Half Forward: Adam Garner (Colac)
Garner is a big presence in Colac’s forward 50, and has been a key reason for the side’s success so far in 2022.
He has slotted 28 goals for the season, with a bag of eight majors the highlight.
Garner has been kept goalless once in nine games, and has kicked at least three goals six times.
Half Forward Flank: Mitch Patten (Leopold)
Patten is the competition’s leading goal scorer after nine weeks, with 35 goals to his name.
He is yet to go a game without less than two goals, and has kicked five or more majors in four of his matches so far.
Forward Pocket: Patrick Dowling (St Mary’s)
Dowling had been the leading goal scorer for the entire season up until he injured his ankle.
He slotted 31 goals in seven weeks, never dropping below three goals in any of the games, before his injury kept him out of the past two games.
Dowling kicked eight goals in round 1 and has two other bags of five majors this season.
Full Forward: Andrew Boseley (South Barwon)
Boseley is tied for third place in the competition for goals in 2022.
The Swan has slotted 28 goals for the season, tied with Colac’s Adam Garner.
He was kept goalless in round 9, but has kicked at least three goals in six of his matches, including a bag of eight goals in round 2.
Forward Pocket: Flynn Young (Grovedale)
Young has put together a great season as a small forward, finding consistency in a position where it is usually difficult to replicate performances.
He has kicked 21 goals in his nine games, with three matches of four majors and two others with three each.
Young also kicked a goal after the siren to secure a win for Grovedale against Leopold in round 7.
Bench: Marcus Thompson (Leopold)
Thompson is third in the competition for total disposals, having collected the ball 293 times through nine games (32.6 average).
In the past seven weeks, Thompson has dipped below 35 disposals once with a 29-touch game in round 6.
He also has recorded 81 tackles for the season for an average of nine per game.
Bench: Lachie Patten (Bell Park)
Patten has averaged 31.1 disposals per game for the Dragons in 2022, finding the ball more than any other Bell Park player.
He has also kicked 10 goals for the season from the midfield, with his explosive finishing on show at times throughout the year.
Bench: Cameron Wilkinson (Newtown & Chilwell)
Wilkinson is second in the league for total hit outs, recording 214 for an average of 35.7.
He is also averaging 10 disposals per game and helping the Eagles occupy second spot on the ladder.
Bench: Blake Sutterby (Newtown & Chilwell)
A consistent ball winner for the Eagles, Sutterby has only dipped below 25 disposals once (21 in round 6), with three 30+ disposal efforts.
He is also averaging 3.6 marks, three inside 50s and 6.9 tackles per game.
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