Liston Trophy Shane Valenti Morrish Medal Alex Benbow
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
VFL & TAC CUP, FINALS WEEK 3 AFL VICTORIA SEPTEMBER 17-18, 2011 Morrish Medal Liston Trophy Alex Benbow Shane Valenti ALL-NEW RANGER Ready to take on the world Tested to the limits and beyond Meet the team and the locations that pushed the all-new Ranger to the limits and beyond at ford.com.au/newranger Pre-production 4x4 XLT Crew Cab shown in Aurora Blue. Appearance may change at time of introduction. FCORPS0017_Ran_210x148.5_2.indd 1 3/03/11 4:42 PM editorial Best & Fairest announced Earlier in the week the best and fairest players in both the Peter Jackson VFL and TAC Cup were announced. SOME wonderful stories Sandringham in the VFL. He Benbow was also named in emerged and lasting reputations played in a premiership (2006), the TAC Cup Team of the Year, were forged as Victorian football won the Fothergill Round Medal which history tells us provides applauded and celebrated its (2007) for the best young talent a snapshot of those players individual stars from the 2011 in the competition and on the who will feature at the NAB AFL Peter Jackson VFL and TAC Cup back of those standout seasons National Draft in November. season last week. earned selection as a rookie Ahmed Saad, winner of the The overwhelming theme player with Melbourne. Fothergill-Round Medal, named portrayed was the rich depth While events did not pan out in honour of Des Fothergill and of talent coupled with the as he would have wished at the Barry Round, the only players opportunities provided and AFL, Valenti returned to the VFL to win a Brownlow Medal and seized across both competitions. as he wanted to play and enjoy Liston Trophy, is one of the great Shane Valenti etched his name football at the highest possible football stories. indelibly in the VFA/VFL annals level. After spending most of his pre- with his runaway win in the And, that’s one of the intrinsic teen years living in Egypt, the J.J. Liston Trophy, the highest beauties of football in Victoria: birth-place of his parents, Saad individual honour bestowed upon it offers so many varied had never played Australian a VFL player. opportunities for players who Rules when he settled back in Valenti became just the sixth each have their own individual our northern suburbs. player to own two Listons aspirations. He took up the game at the and only the third player to Interestingly, Matthew Bate, the insistence of friends, literally accomplish the extraordinary Casey Scorpions Melbourne invited himself to training at the feat in successive seasons. listed player who was runner up Northern Bullants and within two It added another layer to the to Valenti in the Liston Trophy, is seasons emerged as a young outstanding season enjoyed a previous winner of the Morrish player with plenty to offer. by Port Melbourne, which has Medal (2004). AFL Victoria congratulates all now provided 11 winners of the Alex Benbow, the Dandenong those Peter Jackson VFL and Liston. Stingrays rover, won this year’s TAC Cup players honoured in Valenti’s success clearly Morrish in a thrilling three various awards and teams and illustrates the talented player way fi nish with just one vote wishes them every success with pathway in Victoria. separating him and Sandringham their football pursuits. Dragons Alex Woodward, - Grant Williams After coming through the TAC and Gippsland Powers Danny Cup, Valenti progressed to Butcher. General Manager, AFL Victoria SEPTEMBER 17-18, 2011 Editor: Anthony Stanguts anthony.stanguts@afl vic.com.au HEADQUARTERS CONTENTS Contributors: Adrian Dunn, Matt Lee, Brendan Lucas, Brittany Shanahan, Visy Park Ben Carbonaro, Ben Cavarra, Gate 3 Royal Parade Chloe Joel Design & Print: Red Onion Creative (03) 5221 4408 Carlton Nth VIC 3054 Photos: Getty images, Damian Visentini, Island Images GPO Box 4337 Advertising: David Howard (03) 8341 6007 MELBOURNE VIC 3001 AFL Victoria General Manager: Grant Williams VFL 5 - 44 Football Operations Manager: John Hook Phone: (03) 8341 6000 TAC Cup 45 - 62 High Performance Managers: Anton Grbac, Fax: (03) 9380 1076 Leon Harris Football Operations Offi cer: Luke Gatti Website: www.afl vic.com.au COVER: Dandenong Stingray Alex Benbow and Port Melbourne’s Shane Valenti. Football Operations Coordinator: Sophie Timms www.vfl .com.au 3 note from the editor Grand Finals start This weekend will see the fi rst of three Grand Final matches being completed. WE kick off the 2011 Grand of club listed players. At any Tigers start to build a solid Finals with the reserves stage their AFL aligned club base of senior players. The Grand Final match between can be depleted by injuries or likes of Willie Wheeler, Glenn Box Hill Hawks and Coburg suspensions, which has a fl ow Grgic and Dylan Murphy all Tigers. Box Hill is attempting on effect for the VFL side. earned their spots in the senior to complete a threepeat of As happened this season to line up this season, as coach premiership victories, as Box Hill, Hawthorn suffered Adam Potter showed early that well as winning their fourth injuries early which called on he was going to be willing to reserves premiership in six senior players from the VFL. give younger players a go in years. What also hampered the VFL the seniors. One of the pleasing aspects Hawks was long term injuries This weekend younger, of the reserves competition, to their own senior players developing players will take is that it provides another early in the year, to such to the fi eld on both Saturday level of development for players as Shaun Pollard and and Sunday, in the reserves future senior footballers. A Beau Muston – the later never Grand Final on the fi rst day, number of players for both completing a senior game in and in the Young Guns Game sides competing in Saturday’s his fi rst season as a Box Hill on Sunday. Obviously the Grand Final match started listed player. senior games will be the draw their season in the reserves, These injuries in turn gave a cards on the weekend, but but were given an opportunity number of reserves players make sure you arrive early this due to consistent form of either a fast track to the Box Hill weekend to enjoy watching a a spot as the 23rd player Hawks senior line up, which number of players that might during the year, or simply a number of players – such be the senior players of the gained a call up to the senior as David Mirra – grabbed the future, in not only the Peter team. opportunity with both hands. Jackson VFL, but maybe the AFL as well. One thing that has become For Coburg, no other team obvious for aligned teams in better utilised the 23rd player - Anthony Stanguts Communications Offi cer, the competition is that they rule in season 2011 as the need to have a strong base AFL Victoria media coverage Finals Week 3, September 17th - 18th: Saturday, 17th September ABC TV: Port Melbourne vs Northern Bullants, tune into ABC1 from 2pm 3WBC: Box Hill Hawks vs Coburg Tigers from 12pm, followed by Port Melbourne vs Northern Bullants VFL Radio: Port Melbourne vs Northern Bullants from 1pm On Aussie Digital, SEN 1116am www.vfl .com.au, www.bpmmedia.com.au AND the Red Time Sport iPhone app (download for free from the iTunes store) Sunday, 18th September ABC TV: Williamstown vs Werribee Tigers, tune into ABC1 from 2pm VFL Radio: Williamstown vs Werribee Tigers, from 1pm Thursday, 22nd September SEN: ‘State of Play’ - the VFL half hour 8pm – 8:30pm 4 www.afl vic.com.au j.j. liston trophy Valenti goes back to back SHANE Valenti confi rmed his Williamstown rover Ben Sam Mitchell polled an elevation from premier to elite Jolley, who won the medal extraordinary 31 votes from player in VFA/VFL history with for the best player on the his 11 games for Box Hill a stunning second J.J. Liston ground in the inaugural Foxtel Hawks in 2002. Mitchell Trophy win. Cup, fi nished third with 13 received 10 three votes as Valenti became just the sixth votes, one more than North well as one single vote. player in the competition’s Ballarat’s Ryan McKenzie Valenti’s 10-vote gap to Bate rich history to win a and Williamstown’s Western is also the greatest winning second Liston Trophy and Bulldog ruckman Will Minson. margin since, again, Mitchell just the third to claim the Valenti’s teammate Adam 21 votes clear of Coburg highest individual award in Bentick was one of three Tigers’ Dean Talbot. consecutive seasons. players – along with It is also worth noting that Although he missed three teammate Chris Cain Valenti could easily have been games through injury it only and North Ballarat’s Cam the only player to win three put the brakes on his prolifi c Richardson – on 11 votes, an Liston Trophys. He fi nished vote-catching season. extraordinary performance runner-up behind James given that he did not play He polled votes in 10 of the 15 Byrne in the ’07 Liston. after round 12. games he played, including It was apparent from the six best-on-ground games to At that stage, Bentick trailed opening few rounds that it register 25 votes, which was Valenti by four votes. was Valenti that everyone 10 more than Melbourne’s But, whichever way you care else in the competition had to Matthew Bate who played to analyse the 2011 Liston it catch. with Casey Scorpions. was all about Shane Valenti, Valenti picked up the who last year dead-heated maximum votes in the with North Ballarat rover Steve season-opener against Box Clifton.