AFTER being held out of town for a few years, it was great to have the New Norfolk Junior Football Club awards night back in the valley utilising the facilities and catering of our local sponsors. The event was held at The Valley Sports Bar with catering by Banjo’s New Norfolk and Pauly’s Pizza, with thanks to those three sponsors.
The organising committee did a fantastic job, with the function room at The Valley Sports Bar transformed into a wonderful space for the awards to take place and plenty of decorations in the club colours of red, white and black. The night got under way on time at 6pm with club secretary Sarah Saunders giving a rundown of the year that was at the NNJFC.
During the first break, NNJFC treasurer and life member Ann Burns thanked all the volunteers right across the club while treats from Banjo’s Bakery Cafe were enjoyed. Next, Justin Benson presented milestone trophies to those who had played their 50th NNJFC club games or 25th games. These trophies right across the club were sponsored by New Norfolk and Derwent Valley News, which also provided space in each edition throughout the season for photos, results and stories to highlight our club.
The club also acknowledged the senior players who gave up their time on a Sunday to present these players with their milestone certificates – some of the juniors will remember those presentations for a very long time. The evening ended with entertainment by a DJ after a feast courtesy of Pauly’s Pizza.
LIFE MEMBERS INDUCTED
DURING the night, two new life members were inducted. These were coach Ben Rainbird and registrar Justin Benson. Ben Rainbird was coach of the Under-18 Girls this season and is a strong advocate for female participation in football. Justin Benson is the club registrar and has filled many other roles with the club including coaching, umpiring and committee member.
BEST AND FAIREST COUNTS
TO streamline the event, each age group began with a leader board of vote getters after Round 7. The individual rounds were then counted from Round 8 and above.
UNDER-14 GIRLS
IN the count for the David Banks Medal, it was clear early on that it would be hard to prevent captain Elsie Chaplin from claiming her consecutive best and fairest awards. With Elsie in front from the word go, the suspense turned to who would be runner up and there were a few backwards and forwards moves as players got their noses in front before being overtaken again. In the end, the top five in the David Banks Best and Fairest Medal were: Elsie Chaplin, 32 votes; Ellah Braslin and Kyeshia Burk, 27 votes; Bronte Jones, 24; and Brilee Chaplin, 19. Coach Bradley Chaplin and assistant coach Bryan Chaplin presented the awards. Most Improved (club award): Brilee Chaplin; Most Improved (sponsored by Bailey Chaplin): Rubee Burdon; Coaches Award (club award): Myler Pelham; Coaches Award (sponsored by Stacey and Nick Benson): Ruby Rainbird; Most Consistent: Bronte Jones; Best in finals (sponsored by The Valley Sports Bar): Bronte Jones.
UNDER-14 BOYS
ONCE again it was clear that one player would be hard to beat in the count for the Peter Birchall Medal. Aydan Bailey was pushed hard in the votes by Bradley Slater but with Bradley playing out of his age group he was ineligible for the award. The round-by-round votes were closely watched to see who would emerge as the runner-up. The top five in the Peter Birchall Best and Fairest Medal were: Aydan Bailey, 52 votes; Bradley Slater (ineligible due to age) 48; Charlie Cooper, 25; Jude Bannister, 24; and Ruben Strong, 17 (ineligible due to age). Coach Ian Slater and assistant coach Ben Cooper presented the awards to their team. Most Improved (club award): Riley Stevens; Coaches Award (club award): Riley Kenyon; Coaches Award (sponsored): Samuel Clark; Most Consistent (club award): Bradley Slater. Leadership Awards (sponsored by Ian Slater): Taij Bennett, Reuben Strong, Kobe Strong and Bradley Slater.
UNDER-16.5 BOYS
AFTER a close count right across the rounds in the Geoff and Carol Horne Medal, the ever-consistent quiet achiever Liam Lowe emerged victorious. A few good few games late in the season saw him finish with the highest votes among the eligible players and was crowned the winner. The team’s captain and one of the people responsible for getting his side onto the oval each week, Nick Ransley, was named the runner up. The top five vote getters in the Geoff and Carol Horne Best and Fairest Award were: Liam Lowe, 29 votes; Nick Ransley, 25 votes; William Latham, 22 votes. Ineligible players (due to age) Riley Triffett polled an impressive 34 votes and Tyler Benson received 22 votes from just six games. Coach Nathan Browning and assistant coach and life member Tristan Triffett presented the team’s awards, which were sponsored by The Valley Sports Bar. Most improved: Toby Marriott; Coaches award: Nick Ransley; and Most Consistent: Liam Lowe.
UNDER-18 GIRLS
IN the race for the Cathy Adams Medal, the eventual winner appeared very early in the count when Brandi Sokolski took a huge 21-vote lead. As was the case in the other age groups, the runners-up count was a much more closely contested position. Kyah Abel had a few good games late in the season to overtake Olivia Lane who had been in the box seat for a fair few rounds. The top five in the Cathy Adams Best and Fairest Medal were: Brandi Sokolski, 42 votes; Kyah Abel, 21; Olivia Lane, 19; Kodi Stevenson, 17; Sophie McNeill, 16. Coaches Ben Rainbird and Jim Horne presented the following team awards, which were all sponsored by The Valley Sports Bar. Most Improved: Naomi Machin; Coaches Award: Maddison Krause; Most Consistent: Kodi Stevenson; and Best in Finals: Kodi Stevenson. The Coaches award (sponsored by Ben and Shannon Rainbird) went to Ashley Harwood.
RISING STAR AWARD
AT the end of the best and fairest counting, attention turned to the Banjo’s New Norfolk Rising Star Award.
The nominees from each team were: Elsie Chaplin (Under-14 Girls), Aydan Bailey (Under-14 Boys), Tyler Benson (Under-16.5 Boys) and Brandi Sokolski (Under-18 Girls). All coaches spoke passionately and proudly of their players and their whole teams. In the end, the 2023 NNJFC Rising Star award was presented to young gun Elsie Chaplin by Kaitlin Booth, assistant manager of Banjo’s Bakery Cafe in New Norfolk. Elsie is a now a two-time best and fairest winner who has played more than 80 club games. She has been selected in development squads, polled well in the STJFL best and fairest count and most importantly is a leader on and off the field, quite often volunteering to assist in many extra tasks around the club including in the canteen and mentoring younger players.
THANK YOU
THE NNJFC wishes all the players, families, sponsors and supporters a safe summer and we hope to see you all back again for the 2024 season.
JUSTIN BENSON
