Future star: Rochester’s Adam McPhee took out the Football Rising Star award at the GVL’s award night. Picture: Bruce Povey
Photo by
Bruce Povey
Rochester has taken out a number of awards at this year’s Morrison and Wellman Family Medal count.
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The Goulburn Valley League's night of nights was held virtually on Wednesday, September 22, recognising the season's best performers and capping off a tumultuous year of multiple COVID-19-enforced shutdowns.
Leading the way for Rochester was senior footballer Adam McPhee, who was named this year’s Football Rising Star, beating out 11 other players from each of the league’s 12 clubs.
Another rising star at Rochester, Teal Hocking also featured heavily on the night.
The reigning Jacqui Hudgson Medallist (under-15) from 2019, Hocking just missed out on claiming back-to-back league best and fairest awards, finishing runner-up in the Carol Ryan Rising Star medal (under-17) behind Shepparton United’s Hannah Onley.
Hocking polled 20 votes to Onley’s 25 in the best and fairest count, though finished on top in the race for the under-17s MVP award to cap off another strong season in the yellow and black.
Rising talent: Rochester's Teal Hocking.
Photo by
Rodney Braithwaite
Rather impressively the Tigerette later polled well in the Wellman Family Medal for her work in A-grade.
Fellow netballer Lillian Ward’s strong season was also acknowledged, with Ward finishing in the top five for the Sandra Cox Medal.
Nabbing 13 votes in the B-grade count, Ward finished equal fifth alongside Euroa’s Megan O’Bree, behind eventual winner Greta Pearson (Echuca), runner-up Andrea McKenzie (Seymour) and third, Alice Clurey (United).
Others to be recognised on the night were Chris O’Sullivan, who was awarded the Netball Umpire Development award, while Kristy Roulston’s work with the 15-and-under Interleague team was also noted.
Rochester’s under-17 team also took out their respective competition’s goal-defending award, with the side conceding just 237 goals defensively this year.
In the night’s biggest awards, it was Seymour midfielder Jack O’Sullivan and Shepparton United sharpshooter Jessie Barnes who won this year’s Morrison Medal and Wellman Family Medal.
It was back-to-back wins for Barnes in the A-grade count, while O’Sullivan claimed one of country football’s most prestigious awards in his first year in the competition.
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