WGLFL best and fairest

By Ken Moore
GARFIELD ruckrover Andy Soumilas won the 2005 Trood Award and Rodda Medal as best and fairest player in the West Gippsland Latrobe Football League. He was presented with the award at the PakenhamBerwick Gazette medals night on Monday at the Morwell Football Club.
Soumilas, 22, is a prolific and fearless ballwinner who has played all his football with the Garfield Stars. Soumilas, with 23 votes, won the award by five votes from Traralgon veteran and threetime winner Greg Morley.
Leongatha ruckrover Alister Fixter and Maffra forward Adrian Burgiel tied for third with 15 votes.
Morley started well with bestonground performances in the first three rounds and led with 12 votes at the conclusion of round five, but he was overhauled by Soumilas in round 10 and thereafter the Garfield man was never headed.
Soumilas surged ahead with three votes in round 13 against Morwell and two votes in round 14 against Leongatha, when the Stars began to find their feet in the competition.
Soumilas only polled one more vote but his immediate dangers Morley, Fixter and Burgiel failed to make up any significant ground in the closing rounds.
Maffra’s Justin Staley with 14 votes and Drouin ruckman Brock Honeysett (13) were two of the surprise packets to poll well and in contrast Ben Coleman, who was well fancied in some circles, disappointed with only three votes after a stellar season.
Soumilas’s victory follows his 2004 Breheny Medal as best and fairest in the now defunct WGLFL Western Division. Soumilas is the younger brother of Garfield captaincoach Ben and the son of league general manager Chris Soumilas.
The PakenhamBerwick Gazette League Champion trophy was presented to Fixter and the Gazette team of the year was announced to an appreciative audience.
Maffra’s triple premiership coach Wayne Butcher was announced coach and said he would like to see a similar team represent the WGLFL at next year’s interleague carnival. This season’s interleague chairman of selectors and player welfare officer John Barnes outlined the initial plans for next year’s campaign, in which the WGLFL will return to Division 1 after winning Pool B this season.
Incredibly, in the reserves count, Traralgon’s David Tripp won his fourth consecutive Rex Hartley Medal, this year by six votes, despite an injuryriddled start to the season.
Leigh Stockdale picked up the Wilkinson Medal for the thirds competition.
Stockdale polled three votes in the final round to pass the unlucky trio of Maffra’s Zac Harrington, Morwell’s Matt Hammond and Sale’s James Hammill by one vote.
In the fourths, the ShawCarter medal went to Michael Todd of Sale, who polled a stunning 33 votes to be a runaway winner from Moe’s Brad Wedrowicz, who made his senior debut on Saturday in Moe’s preliminary final loss to Traralgon.
Andrew Redstone from Access for All Abilities spoke about the benefits it provided for those who participate with a disability and presented the Herb Smith Perpetual Shield to Brian Mussared from Warragul, who was delighted with the announcement.