Barton Medal Triple Treat
THE Tallangatta and district league Barton medal had the second three-way tie in its 79-year history on Monday night.
Reigning medallist Cam Fendyk alongside Yackandandah ruckman Zac Leitch and Barnawartha midfielder Jarrad Farwell polled 22 votes apiece in one of the most exciting vote counts in the awards history.
The trio finished four votes ahead of Thugoona’s midfield maestro Tyson Neander on 18 votes who was ineligible.
He was suspended for one-match on a striking charge.
Wodonga Saints big man Brodie A’Vard was declared the runner-up after he polled 16 votes.
In a fascinating count, Fendyk bolted to the lead after 11 rounds after he polled 22 votes to open up a handy buffer on Farwell with 16. Leitch who injured his hamstring in round 1 and didn’t return until round 7, looked like a 100/1 chance to win the medal with five votes.
Fendyk produced a purple patch of form from round 6 to 11 where he polled maximum votes on six occasions.
However, Fendyk failed to poll again after he injured his shoulder against Chiltern in round 12 and missed a month of football before returning for the final two matches.
With Fendyk sidelined both Farwell and Leitch started to make their moves.
Leitch picked up 14 votes from rounds 12 to 16 where he was judged best-on-ground on four occasions and second best in a five round flurry.
After 16 rounds Fendyk (22) was equal leader with Farwell (22) and Leitch (19) to set up a grandstand finish to the count at the Commercial Club with 380 in attendance.
Adding to the suspense, the trio all failed to poll in the penultimate round.
Fendyk and Farwell also went voteless in the final round.
However, Leitch secured his sixth best on ground performance against Barnawartha to join Fendyk and Farwell at the top of the leaderboard and ensure a three-way tie.
Mitta United’s John Smith, alongside Holbrook’s Paul Rossiter and Tallangatta Valley’s Steve Maddock recorded the first three-way tie back in 1985.
There was also a four-way tie in 1991 between Holbrook’s Laurie McInnes, Mitta United’s Hugh Giltrap, Yackandandah’s Jay McNeil and Culcairn’s Scott McGrath.
Fendyk became the first back-to-back winner of the Barton medal since Barnawartha’s Cam McNeill in 2013-2014.
Leitch also finished runner-up in last year’s count while Farwell was amongst the top-five.
Farwell is also a previous winner of the prestigious medal after he tied with Thurgoona’s Jayden Kotzur in the 2016 medal count while playing for rival club Rutherglen.
Leitch is the first Roo to win the medal since Lee Dale in 2017 while Farwell is the first Tiger since McNeill who captured his fourth Barton medal in 2018.
The pre-count favourite Dylan Van Berlo finished equal-third with 15 votes alongside Yackandandah’s Johann Jarratt and Kiewa-Sandy Creek’s Connor Newnham.
Fendyk and Leitch won’t be able to celebrate the win straight away with the Bushrangers and Roos both playing at Sandy Creek this weekend.
Yackandandah will face Kiewa-Sandy Creek in the second semi-final on Saturday afternoon while Beechworth and Chiltern will clash in the first semi-final the following day.
Yackandandah’s James Davis won the reserves award for the second year in a row.
Chiltern’s Rama Schultz was successful in the thirds while Rutherglen’s Dustin Fisher polled a whopping 47 votes to win the fourths award.
Reference: The Border Mail (August 27, 2024)