It’s a tight one.
For the first time, someone not named Adam Treloar took out the Roughnecks Best & Fairest. And all it took was an injury to keep him out for 8 games.
In his place, Devon ‘Fritz’ Smith was awarded the crown by a solitary vote over Ablett (who finished second for the second year running). The old 5-4-3-2-1 scoring system for the finals and home and away season was employed – bye rounds didn’t factor.
Leaderboard
| Devon Smith | 28 |
| Gary Ablett | 27 |
| Luke Parker | 25 |
| Adam Treloar | 24 |
| Stefan Martin | 23 |
| Lachie Hunter | 21 |
| Kane Lambert | 16 |
| Jaegar O’Meara | 15 |
| Brendon Goddard | 13 |
| Connor Blakely | 13 |
| Luke Dunstan | 13 |
| Tim Taranto | 11 |
| Christian Salem | 8 |
| Alex Neal-Bullen | 7 |
| Charlie Curnow | 6 |
| Brayden Fiorini | 4 |
| Kyle Langford | 4 |
| Adam Tomlinson | 4 |
| Zac Fisher | 3 |
| Callum Mills | 2 |
| Hayden Crozier | 2 |
| Dawson Simpson | 2 |
| Sam Murray | 1 |
| Chad Wingard | 1 |
A few other points of interest from the count.
- Lachie Hunter and Luke Parker polled in the same number of games as Smith.
- Treloar polled in 7 of the 11 games he played.
- Three players who are no longer on the Roughnecks list polled (Callum Mills, Dawson Simpson, and Sam Murray).
Some other awards dished out on the night:
Best Free Agent Pickup went to Hayden Crozier, who featured in 9 games at an average of 79. Kyle Langford technically outperformed Crozier, however seeing as I pick him up every single season as part of an ongoing obsession, it didn’t seem right to bestow him with said award.
The Best First Year at the Roughnecks award went to Tim Taranto. The second year forward featured in 18 games at an average of 90.83, after falling to make the keeper cut at the Chiefs at the start of the season. We here at the Roughnecks love Taranto, and often make Ryan Burton just watch him whilst yelling “why can’t you be more like Tim!”
Most Disappointing Player, an award we really should stop handing out and perhaps reserve for private end of year exit interviews, went, again, to Dan Hannebery. After dropping his average 14 points in season 2017, Hannebery said “hey hold my beer and check this out”, pumping out a disgusting 63.71 in the 7 games I unfortunately trotted him out for. The aforementioned Burton was in the frame, but, I mean… Daniel. Mate.
The Player Most Likely to Be Inexplicably Kept award went to Nic Newman. His AFL coach isn’t a fan. He makes questionable decisions with ball in hand. He’s not a lock to even play each week. But Jake Lloyd might leave that Sydney backline… and Jarrad McVeigh is another year older… and boy does he score well when given license to roam…
The Player Who Has No Idea Where He Ultimately Stands award went to Isaac Smith. Traded him in. Played him every game. Didn’t keep him at the end of 2017. Traded to get him back halfway through season 2018. Will he make the cut this go round? Just keep laughing nervously Isaac.
The Roughneck Life Member award went to Brendon Goddard, who we all assume is retiring/being put down. Our fourth pick in the inaugural draft, Goddard served our backline ably in 56 games, at an average of 95.98. We will miss his durability, his experience, and his ability to point.