The Echuca reserves midfielder took out the prestigious award after putting together a remarkable season, polling 27 votes to claim the 2026 medal eight votes ahead of Shepparton midfielder Ben Moylan, with Rochester's Christian Toy in third with 16 votes.
But James said the only thing he was focused on now was completing his team’s juggernaut assault on the season.
“I thought I might be in the hunt, I have had a pretty good year, but I wasn’t expecting to win, and not win by that many votes,” James said.
“And I have been lucky to have had an injury-free run this year and also managed to kick more than 40 goals, which is a bit up on my usual tally,” he said.
The 21-year-old midfielder, who works as a sparky in between games, played hard to find a way into the seniors, but the depth of the club, and its ongoing success during the season, has made competition for senior spots very tough.
James, who also played all his junior footy with Echuca, said everyone knows grand finals are different, but added the side had got “a few boys back” and would be going into the clash with Shepparton at full strength.
“We defeated Shepp by 72 points in the final we played and had knocked them over by 50 points during the season, but none of that counts this weekend,” James said.
“We work very well as a team and if we get off to a good start, I reckon we might be hard to catch,” he said.
“But you can’t go into a grand final without wanting to give it everything for the whole four quarters, the whole season is on the line here.”
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