– Cal Park and Ben Wells tie on 25 votes
– Fish Creek’s Abbey Shaw top netballer

THE Alberton Football Netball League held their vote count and presentation night last Saturday night at the Tarwin
Football rooms with a very good crowd in attendance to celebrate the achievements of the League’s best players in
Football and netball.
Director of Football Operations Neil Park was MC for the evening and the league’s Lynn Whelan had everything
ready with the power point presentation making the evening go like clockwork.
First cab of the rank was the C grade netball count, with MDU’s Jane Harrison the winner with 33 votes.
B grade netball follower next with MDU pair Amanda Calder and Mel Harris tying with 24 votes, while Toora’s Helen
Nicholls was runner-up with 22.
Next followed the reserves football count with Stony Creek’s Brenton Byrnes the winner with 25 vote from fellow
ruckman, Toora bean pole Troy Allott on 20.
Brenton remarked it was great that two ruckmen headed the count instead of the usual midfielders.
Adam Bright of Fish Creek was award the goal kicking award with 65 goals for the season.
Next came the netball team of the Year presentation and then the A grade netball count.
It was a close tussle all season between Fish Creek’s Abbey Shaw and MDU’s Ebony Best with Shaw winning with
32 votes from Best who received 29. Abbey’s father Nick Shaw won a senior football B&F award in 1995 also.
Next came the football Team of the Year presentation for the footballers before the senior vote count.
After five rounds Fish Creek’s and last year’s winner Thomas Cameron was leading with seven votes from Tarwin’s
Troy Toussaint, DWWWW’s Kael Bergles and Darcy Atkins and Stony Creek’s Dylan Zuidema on six votes.
Toora’s Ben Wells jumped to the lead after 10 rounds with 14 votes, with Bergles one vote behind on 13 and Fish
Creek’s Callan Park was starting his move on 10. Three other players were close behind on nine votes.
By the end of the fifteenth round Wells had moved to 21 votes with Park two votes behind on 19, while Bergles and
Cameron were both on 16 votes.
With one round to go Park was on 25 votes, two ahead of Wells on 23 and Cameron and the Allie’s Darcy Atkins on
18, so it was a race between the top two.
Park failed to vote in the last round while Wells picked up two votes against Foster to join Park as joint winners of
the 2017 senior best and fairest.
They both received a Peter Moore medal and a trophy donated by the Tibballs family.
Ben, who is in his first season at Toora thanked the club for making this year the most enjoyable of his career to
date and also coach Jack Weston and everyone at the club.
Ben who is 25 years of age plays in the midfield and was recruited from Frankston in the VFL when they disbanded
last season.
Cal Park has played most of his career at Fish Creek and is currently captain of the side. He is a classy midfielder
who leads by example each week
He is also the second Park to win the best and fairest award, with father Neil winning the top award in 1981.
The most discipline club award followed with Toora winning the prestigious award which was accepted by joint
presidents Craig Jenkins and Trent Crawford.
The Tarwin Football Netball Club catered for the night and did a great job.
All that is now left for the season is Saturday’s grand finals at Meeniyan with some very entertaining football and
netball games on offer.

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