MVP Freo BF Voting - 2017 Review and Final Results

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Jul 15, 2007
9,634
7,239
Too far from my bed
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Boston Celtics, Patriots
Though we finished the year poorly, overall 2017 was a step in the right direction with a few more wins and lots of new players exposed to AFL level. As far as individual player performance, it was quite shifting with different players hitting form/fitness at different times. Though the winner (Fyfe) jumped away at the end, it made for a very tight finish for the positions immediately behind him. Here is a presentation of the final standings of the Freo Big Footy Player of the Year Award as us posters voted. The top 10 is presented with a few words to form a bit of a review for the season.

NB. Don't want to the blabber, just wan't the table, go to second post ...

1st Place - Nat Fyfe (91 points, 21 games)

BOGs: 7
Top 3: 13
Scored votes in 20 of 21 games played
Last Year: 10th

Stand-out game (most % votes): Round 22 vs Richmond - we were smashed, but as Fyfe did for much of the latter stages of the season, he battled hard and won a lot of ball, kicked a goal, put the ball in our inside 50 nine times - was really our only major presence for the day.

Nat started the year slowly as you'd expect given how much footy he had missed and the sort of injury he had to endure. Some were having their doubts when he really started to struggle mid-season then missed a game, but from there we started to see the real Fyfe return and finished the season very strongly (his 7 BOGs were all after Rnd 15). With many other key players going down with injury, it allowed Fyfe to return to his mantle as being best player for Freo despite that early slump. Now that he's built through the year, we're really looking forward to his very best again in the next few seasons.


2nd Place - Lachie Neale (60 points, 21 games)

BOGs: 1
Top 3: 7
Scored votes in 18 of 21 games played
Last Year: 1st

Stand-out game (most % votes): Round 9 vs Richmond - A dominant presence in the midfield in a win at home over Carlton during the teams better stage of the season. 37 touches including 8 clearances and 5 inside 50's is the sort of output that we know Neale can produce.

More often than not, when the Dockers had some control of the ball, it would include Neale in the play; illustrated by the fact that he once again lead Fremantle's disposal count. Though not as flashy as others, Neale was probably our most consistent midfielder. His form did taper off under injury issues as the season wore on and his better games were leading up to and during the Carlton game mentioned above. Though he continued to contribute, perhaps it was no coincidence that the team's form overall started to wain as Neale himself seemed to struggle. Having said that, he suited up for all but one game and was a healthy contributor for most of them which allowed him to finish as high in the voting as he did.


3rd Place - Connor Blakely (59 points, 17 games)

BOGs: 4
Top 3: 8
Scored votes in 15 of 17 games played
Last Year: 6th

Stand-out game (most % votes): Round 18 vs Hawthorn - huge presence playing in his most common role for the season off the back flank with 9 marks and 7 rebound 50's as part of his 27 possessions. Did his bit, but couldn't stop a rejuvenated Hawks inflicting another late season loss on the Dockers.

What a break out year Blakely had. Managed to finish third (only just missing out on second) despite missing the last few games of the season with a busted shoulder and squeezing in a 'surfing holiday' in there as well. He showed last year that he belonged in this league with natural footy instincts, an ability to read the play and fast decision making. He honed those skills this year but, most significantly, he improved his field kicking out of sight which made him one of our more reliable kicks coming out of the back half. It is that ability to kick so reliably which has been the most pleasant of surprises. Great work Connor!!


4th Place - Joel Hamling (49 points, 22 games)

BOGs: 1
Top 3: 5
Scored votes in 20 of 22 games played
Last Year: N/A

Stand-out game (most % votes): Round 12 vs Brisbane - was a terrible game as the Dockers limped into the bye with a dispirited loss against the Lions. The ball spent a ridiculous amount of time in our defensive half and Hamiling was stand-out best as he refused to put his head down and worked his but off (11 one percenters an indication of that).

Lots of new faces about the club this year and a few in our top 10 too - among them is Joel Hamling who came over with not too much fanfare, but has turned out a real boon for the club. With AP dealing with serious injury, the retirement of McPharlin, the fading of Dawson and an aging Johnson, our tall defensive stocks were starting to look thin. Hamling stood up and quickly established himself as a quality tall back; athletic, disciplined and solid in the air all while being able to lock down opposition key forwards. Hamling, perhaps more than any other, signals that there is hope for Freo in the changing of the guard that we're currently experiencing.


5th Place - Michael Walters (47 points, 17 games)

BOGs: 2
Top 3: 7
Scored votes in 14 of 17 games played
Last Year: 3rd

Stand-out game (most % votes): Round 15 vs St. Kilda - Freo lead for much of the day thanks in large part to an incredible game from Walters with a career high 6 goals along with 32 touches playing up and down the field. His efforts weren't enough though as Freo suffered a consecutive down to the wire loss.

As promised by Lyon, Walters spent even more time in the midfield this season. It meant his scoring output dropped, but his impact on games increased significantly as his elite skills were able to be harnessed more often. Though it took a bit for Walters to really get going in the first half dozen rounds, things really cranked up in the middle stages of the season where career best form had many talking AA selection. Unfortunately, it all came to a halt as he went down with a season ending knee injury in Round 18.


6th Place - David Mundy (42 points, 21 games)

BOGs: 1
Top 3: 6
Scored votes in 18 of 21 games played
Last Year: 7th

Stand-out game (most % votes): Round 4 vs Melbourne - one of a number of thrilling close games for the season and Mundy was sensational playing in his fwd/midfield role. Kicked 3 goals straight (equal career high) and was instrumental in blitzing third quarter surge that put the Dockers into a winning position.

Playing a lot more time closer to goal meant the classy veteran wasn't always in the play as much as we've been used to. Nevertheless, he still had a lot of influence in games and his composure with ball in hand was typified with another after the siren winning shot at goal against Richmond in Round 8. Though he tapered off through the middle stages of the season with solid but not really stand-out games, he did finish the year well after playing more time his more customary on-ball position in the last couple of games.


7th Place - Bradley Hill (40 points, 22 games)

BOGs: 2
Top 3: 4
Scored votes in 18 of 22 games played
Last Year: N/A

Stand-out game (most % votes): Round 7 vs Essendon - Brad was in peak form in these early-mid season rounds and ran Essendon into the ground picking up 37 possession which included 30 kicks, a career and Fremantle club record.

Another fresh face at the club that quickly impressed us fans. Brad's elite running power and ability to use the ball with purpose were much admired qualities. Though his form did seem to wain in the latter stages of the season, there is no denying that, overall, it was still a good year for Brad - arguably career best despite the team's lack of success. Brad's game style does rely on other players winning the ball, if we get our class players up and running in the middle next season, there is no reason that BHill's form won't rise again.


8th Place - Stephen Hill (34 points, 18 games)

BOGs: 3
Top 3: 4
Scored votes in 11 of 18 games played
Last Year: 2nd

Stand-out game (most % votes): Round 1 vs Geelong - Team oppened the season with a loss, but Stephen hit the ground where he left off from last year; in ripping form with damaging high quality disposals the norm for the day.

As mentioned above, Stephen started the season in fantastic form and was tracking for a career best year - his 3 BOG's all came in the first 5 rounds. It all went a bit pear shaped though from Round 6 as he laboured under ongoing and somewhat mysterious injury concerns. Though he bobbed up here and there with some good moments especially later in the year, Hill never really returned to that early season form. A top ten finish in our standings is nothing to sneeze at but, given what we saw early in the year, it was a bit of a disappointment all considered.


9th Place - Lachie Weller (26 points, 22 games)

BOGs: 1
Top 3: 2
Scored votes in 17 of 22 games played
Last Year: 9th

Stand-out game (most % votes): Round 10 vs Adelaide - A dirty day for the Dockers with the more senior players in particular struggling. In contrast, Weller's performance stood out with a career high 30 possessions and 2 goals.

Weller was one of a number of young bright sparks last year. He followed that up this year with a more settled role playing predominantly off the half-back line where his quickness could come to the fore. Though he wasn't a superstar, he didn't take a backward step in 2017 either and, interestingly enough, finished with an almost identical voting record to last year. I suspect we all think his best is yet to come so, all up, a solid year with expectation of more coming up.


10th Place - Luke Ryan (22 points, 11 games)

BOGs: 0
Top 3: 2
Scored votes in 6 of 11 games played
Last Year: N/A

Stand-out game (most % votes): Round 19 vs GWS - Luke had shown some good signs in games previous, but had his breakout game after coming back from a club enforced suspension and played a dominant role on the back half which included 25 disposals and 14 marks.

All our young players and rookies showed good signs this year at one point or another, and Ryan was right up there among them with the versatile defender becoming a permanent fixture in the second half of the year. His penetrating and accurate kick, very good aerial abilities and fierceness for the contest all impressed us fans. Great start to his career and looking forward to great things from Ryan moving forward.



There you have it, our top 10 for this year according to BF voters. Complete table is posted below and BYB voting in the 3rd post.
 
Last edited:
Jul 15, 2007
9,634
7,239
Too far from my bed
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Boston Celtics, Patriots
Complete Standings for 2017

| Name | Score | Gms | Tot Vts | Vts/Gm
\1 | Fyfe | 91 | 21 | 1755 | 83.6
\2 | Neale | 60 | 21 | 1232 | 58.7
\3 | Blakely | 59 | 17 | 1220 | 71.8
\4 | Hamling | 49 | 22 | 798 | 36.3
\5 | Walters | 47 | 17 | 903 | 53.1
\6 | Mundy | 42 | 21 | 848 | 40.4
\7 | Hill, B | 40 | 22 | 796 | 36.2
\8 | Hill, S | 34 | 18 | 726 | 40.3
\9 | Weller | 26 | 22 | 484 | 22.0
\10 | Ryan | 22 | 11 | 362 | 32.9
\11 | Darcy | 19 | 8 | 241 | 30.1
\12 | Sandilands | 17 | 10 | 328 | 32.8
\13 | Tucker | 16 | 19 | 237 | 12.5
\14 | Hughes | 14 | 19 | 143 | 7.5
\15 | Johnson | 13 | 22 | 293 | 13.3
\16 | McCarthy | 13 | 19 | 218 | 11.5
\17 | Taberner | 11 | 8 | 306 | 38.3
\18 | Kersten | 11 | 20 | 150 | 7.5
\19 | Crozier | 10 | 19 | 129 | 6.8
\20 | Grey | 6 | 14 | 119 | 8.5
\21 | Spurr | 6 | 16 | 81 | 5.1
\22 | Logue | 6 | 13 | 49 | 3.8
\23 | Nyhuis | 4 | 4 | 117 | 29.3
\24 | Langdon | 4 | 10 | 71 | 7.1
\25 | Balic | 4 | 4 | 46 | 11.5
\26 | Suban | 4 | 12 | 46 | 3.8
\27 | Ibbotson | 3 | 10 | 47 | 4.7
\28 | Griffin | 3 | 7 | 30 | 4.3
\29 | Deluca | 2 | 4 | 21 | 5.3
\30 | Sutcliffe | 1 | 14 | 21 | 1.5
\31 | Bennell | 1 | 2 | 15 | 7.5
\32 | Cox | 0 | 10 | 13 | 1.3
\33 | Ballantyne | 0 | 10 | 8 | 0.8
\34 | Pearce, D | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0.4
\35 | Sheridan | 0 | 9 | 3 | 0.3
\36 | Dawson | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.0
\37 | Collins | 0 | 3 | - | -
 
Last edited:
Jul 15, 2007
9,634
7,239
Too far from my bed
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Boston Celtics, Patriots
One silver lining to a season like we've had is watching the young players play. Different players had their moment in the sun in this regard. Brady Grey came out very strongly and looked like he was going to smash the BYB award. Ongoing injury issues meant he not only missed games, but never allowed him to maintain that early form. Later in the season it was the likes of Ryan, Cox and Logue that started drawing our attention and our votes. Then there were was Tucker and Hughes who were a steady presence throughout the year. In the end it was very tight but Sean Darcy just pipped Luke Ryan to take out our Best Young Bloke award for the year. Even though Luke did finish just ahead of Darcy in the general voting, the big ruckman managed to reverse this in the BYB voting and fittingly takes out this year's award.

With big players tending to take more time to develop and the likelihood at the outset that he would not even play this season; fair to say that Darcy taking out this award would not have been most people's first choice. Not only did he play, but he starred at times and us Docker fans breathed a collective sigh of relief as we realised that there was life after Sandi. Well done Darcy!!

Here are the full standings:

BYB Standings

| Name | Votes | Gms | Vts/Gm
\1 | Darcy | 131 | 8 | 16.4
\2 | Ryan | 127 | 11 | 11.5
\3 | Grey | 119 | 14 | 8.5
\4 | Tucker | 101 | 19 | 5.3
\5 | Hughes | 63 | 19 | 3.3
\6 | Balic | 62 | 4 | 15.5
\7 | Logue | 50 | 13 | 3.8
\8 | Nyhuis | 45 | 4 | 11.3
\9 | Deluca | 23 | 4 | 5.8
\10 | Cox | 17 | 10 | 1.7
\11 | Duman | 0 | 0 | -
\12 | Strnadica | 0 | 0 | -
\13 | Apeness | 0 | 0 | -
\14 | Uebergang | 0 | 0 | -
 
Last edited:

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Jul 15, 2007
9,634
7,239
Too far from my bed
AFL Club
Fremantle
Other Teams
Boston Celtics, Patriots
Excellent work PapaJ thank you for putting so much work into this all year again.

It's great to see some new faces and some younger faces in the list too. We might have had a couple of lean years, but the future's looking shiny.

No problems.

And yeah, lots of good signs in there really. There were obviously some disappointments, but lots of what I'd call 'pleasant surprises' ... unknowns that have now shown that they can play this game and will fit in to making us better. Not just the rookies, but the trades like BHill and Hamling. You hope for the best, but it doesn't always work out, so good reading there that's for sure.
 
Apr 16, 2014
10,368
23,285
AFL Club
Fremantle
Great work PapaJ
Just realised you had edited in the rest of the results. BigFooty doesn't bump you back up the top when it's just an edit. So Bump.

Anyway, Tabs finished the season with the highest total votes of our tall forwards despite playing less than half the games of McCarthy and Kersten.

I rewatched the Essendon game last night and he played really well, he kicked a few goals, if he didn't mark it he created a contest. He drew the loose defender who setup in front of him on many occasions and he worked his arse off all game.

Really hope we're just haggling the years/price of his contract.
 

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