OUYEN United superstar Kaine Stevens capped a remarkable season by taking out the SFNL’s top individual football award on Monday night.
Stevens was a runaway winner of the 2022 McLeod Medal, finishing with 22 votes, seven ahead of Wentworth defensive general Andy Wall.
Merbein’s Daniel Tung and Imperials great Brad Hards finished in equal third with 13 votes.
Irymple captain Zac Wandin and Imps big man Riley Burns were next with 12 votes.
The competition’s leading goal scorer, Wade Hancock, finished with nine votes.
Irymple had 18 players record votes, the highest number of any team.
Stevens and Wall set a strong early pace in the vote count. The Kangas ball magnet kept polling regularly in the second half of the season, while Wall, despite notching two best-on-ground performances, could only muster six votes in the final 11 rounds.
The McLeod Medal count mirrored Sunraysia Daily’s Footballer of the Year competition, where Stevens won with 17 votes, three ahead of Wall and Kangas teammate Dallas Willsmore.
Speaking after he won the Daily’s $2000 prize last week, Stevens said he had enjoyed the move from SANFL club West Adelaide to the SFNL in 2022.
“The standard of footy has been good here,” Stevens said.
“The depth in the Sunraysia league is not as good as in the SANFL, but the top-tier players here are just as good.
“Players like ‘Cogs’ (Dan Coghlan) and Nick Mee (from Irymple) are just as good as anyone I played against in the SANFL.
“It’s just that the bottom half drops away a lot more than it does in Adelaide.”
Meanwhile, the league has released its schedule of football and netball grand finals at Mildura Sporting Precinct on Saturday.
The Under 16 decider between Mildura and Robinvale Euston opens the football action on the day, while netball gets under way indoors from 8.45am when Mildura and Merbein clash in the 17&U Division 2 grand final.
Full schedule
Football
Under 16s: Mildura v Robinvale Euston, 8.30am
Under 14s: Irymple v Wentworth, 10am
Under 18s: Irymple v Mildura, 10.20am
Reserves: Irymple v Imperials, 12.20pm
Seniors: Wentworth v Irymple, 2.30pm Netball
17&U Div 2: Mildura v Merbein, 8.45am
17&U Div 1: Mildura v Irymple, 9.45am
C Grade: Wentworth v South Mildura, 10.45am
A Grade: Wentworth v Ouyen United, 12pm
B Grade: Robinvale Euston v Irymple, 1.30pm
C Reserve: South Mildura v Wentworth, 2.30pm
13&U Div 2: South Mildura v Robinvale Euston, 9.45am
13&U Div 1: Merbein v Wentworth, 10.45am
15&U Div 2: Merbein v Imperials, 1.30pm
15&U Div 1: Mildura v Imperials, 2.30pm
