Sport
8 September, 2022
Frost, Hurse and Medlyn share in the spoils of MCDFNL’s night of nights
The 2022 Berry Powell and Nalder Tracey Trophies were won on Monday night, with Har-court ruckman Brayden Frost’s dominant season recognised with a runaway victory, while a dramatic A grade netball count saw Natte Bealiba netball president Naomi...
The 2022 Berry Powell and Nalder Tracey Trophies were won on Monday night, with Harcourt ruckman Brayden Frost’s dominant season recognised with a runaway victory, while a dramatic A grade netball count saw Natte Bealiba netball president Naomi Medlyn and Carisbrook’s Laura Hurse tie for the award.
In the Berry Powell count, it was the domain of the big man for season 2022, with ruckmen and key position players largely dominating the count.
Frost virtually led from start to finish, polling 27 votes and having the trophy wrapped up with three rounds to spare, with Natte’s dominant goalkicking force Danny Brewster finishing runner-up with 20 votes, while Maldon’s Julian Lockwood finished third with 18 votes.
Meantime, in a thrilling Nalder Tracey trophy count, Natte Bealiba’s Ella Tranter led the count in the final round of voting with 24 votes, with Hurse sitting on 23 and Medlyn sitting on 22.
However, Tranter did not poll in the Swans’ round 16 victory over Campbells Creek, with Hurse polling two votes in the Redbacks’ victory over Navarre, and Medlyn polling three votes, leaving Medlyn and Hurse joint recipients of the trophy on 25 votes.
Tranter finished second with 24 votes, while Avoca goalscoring juggernaut Maddy Egan rounded out the podium with 21 votes.
Speaking to The Advertiser, Frost saidwhile it was nice to be recognised as the best player in the competition this year, it won’t mean much unless the Lions can take the premiership.
“When all is said and done, in many years’ time, you don’t really look back on individual awards, you just worry if you’ve won a flag or not. If we don’t win the flag, the season doesn’t mean a lot to me,” he said.
Frost believes that his trophy relates more to the success of his team, rather than his individual influence — which saw him named in the best players on 11 occasions during the home and away season.
“Footy goes in waves. You can have a good year and people outside the club recognise you’ve had a good year, and it’s easy to maintain players and get more coming in, and we’ve been fortunate to be able to maintain our list for the last couple of years, and we’ve also managed to bring players into the club. Managing players and keeping everyone happy has also been a big key to our success,” he said.
“The evenness of our side is a credit to this trophy. I believe I play with the best midfield in the competition, so I think together, we are a well-oiled machine and it definitely helps my on-field performance. I think we can go all the way with what we’ve got.”
Frost said there’s been plenty of inspiration during his last five years at the club, particularly among his peers that he plays against.
“Across the last five years playing at Harcourt, I’ve looked up to Jackson Bowen and Josh Fowkes, they’ve been the stiffest competition, but every year, I feel I am getting a little bit closer to them. Maybe this year, I finally pipped them. But those two are definitely the best ruckmen in the league to me,” he said.
Frost joins 2006 winner Josh Hutchinson and 2012 winner Paul Chaplin as winners of the Berry Powell trophy for the Lions.
Medlyn’s third Nalder Tracey trophy ensures she joins illustrious company as just the fourth three-time winner in the competition’s 35-year history, joining Newstead’s Lynda Wilson, Carisbrook’s Sherriden Byrne and Dunolly’s Ash Lierich, adding to her 2014 and 2015 triumphs.
Meantime, Hurse added to her 2018 Nalder Tracey victory, becoming a two-time winner following a move to wing attack in 2022.
Medlyn admits the win was a shock.
“It was very surprising. I came here tonight as netball president, not because I expect to do overly well or anything. We’ve had an amazing team this year — the fact that Ella came runner-up suggested we all pulled votes from each other, and that’s what you need in a successful team. That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day,” she said.
“It’s just unreal. I don’t know how to explain it. You come into netball to play for your team. The individual accolades aren’t the aim, but it’s lovely to be recognised as well.”
However, Medlyn stresses that she would trade it all away for the chance to win this year’s premiership, with Natte Bealiba set to take on Avoca this Saturday for the right to play in the grand final.
“I’m really excited. I really enjoy playing Avoca. If it’s our year, this team is the team to do it. I haven’t got an A grade premiership yet, I have junior premierships, but the individual accolades are something I’d give away in a moment for any senior premiership,” she said.
Medlyn also wished to pay tribute to the Swans’ depth, which saw Chloe Ross awarded netball rookie of the year.
“We have lots of depth. We also have an amazing junior base, with Rookie of the Year winner Chloe Ross stepping up, Ellie Martin stood up. They’ve done amazingly well and played their hearts out,” she said.
Hurse said she was thrilled to share the award with Medlyn, given her standing among the league’s all-time greats.
“I’m most definitely thrilled to share this with her. Naomi is one of the league’s outstanding players, and to share an award with her is honouring and humbling. I feel proud to stand alongside her,” she said.
Moving to wing attack has provided its fair share of benefits for both Carisbrook and Hurse, who will look to move to the grand final when they play Lexton on Sunday.
“It’s been a different role for myself this year. I had played primarily mid-court, but more around the centre. This year, I’ve transitioned into more of a wing attack and played a feeding role to get the ball to Andrea Schafer and Georgia Bell. Being able to convert this year has been fantastic. It’s been lovely for me to be a part of that with the girls,” she said.
But, much like Frost and Medlyn, Hurse also admits that the will to win a premiership is much greater than winning the Nalder Tracey trophy.
“A premiership would be wonderful. Our qualifying final against Natte Bealiba was outstanding. Our defensive pressure was great and we’re hitting our straps at the right time of the year. People coming back from injuries, helping us gel and it’s just a great time to be around the club,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of Lexton this week, they’re a lovely bunch of girls that are always a pleasure to play against. We are going to need to keep that defensive pressure on and bring the ball down the court steadily to convert those goals to set up another grand final berth.
“Carisbrook is a very proud club, a great family environment and a pleasure to play with the girls every week. We’re all friends, we genuinely like each other and we’ve had a fantastic season — which breeds success and is a driving factor in terms of committing to each other and the team. I’m humbled and honoured to win the individual medallion but would much rather win the premiership medallion at the end of the year.”
Other award winners on the night saw Carisbrook receive the club champion trophy, while Danny Brewster accepted the leading goalkicker trophy in the senior competition for his 121 goals. The Maryborough District Advertiser players of the year were announced, with Frost and Medlyn winning in both football and netball respectively.
Navarre’s Nick Murphy won the reserves best and fairest from Harcourt’s Dylan Holden, with Carisbrook’s Nathan Wright winning the goalkicking award with 71 goals.
In B grade, Byrne took the award for Carisbrook, with teammate Emma Rumpff runner-up, while in C grade, Harcourt’s Bec Waddington was the winner, with Avoca’s Colleen Drummond runner-up.
The rookie of the year awards saw Ross win for Natte Bealiba, with Trentham’s Darcy Matricardi taking the football award, and the Saints’ Samantha Whitehouse was the winner of the administrator of the year award.
The MCDFNL competition now looks ahead to preliminary final weekend, with games to be played at Princes Park on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
