Career-best form: Moama’s Lachie Schultz was Fremantle’s equal-third-highest Brownlow Medal vote-getter with six at the AFL’s night of nights. Photo: AAP Image/Julian Smith
The Brownlow Medal has come and gone, with several regional football exports making their mark on the AFL’s night of nights.
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Moama’s Lachie Schultz equalled his career-best haul of six votes in last year’s count with six in the 2023 edition, rounding out another productive season from the livewire forward.
Schultz kicked 33 goals this season with a career-best haul of five in the derby game against West Coast in round 22. This performance earned him best-on-ground honours and three votes on Monday night.
Schultz then earned maximum votes for his four-goal, 14-disposal performance against Sydney in round nine, one that delivered the Dockers a 17-point win.
The 25-year-old averaged 15.9 disposals this season, earning a career-best haul of 27 against Port Adelaide in round 23.
Schultz placed equal sixth in Fremantle’s Doig Medal best-and-fairest count.
It’s been a strong two seasons for the former Moama gun, who was equal-third on Fremantle’s Brownlow leaderboard, and he will be pivotal for the Dockers again as they aim to rise from 14th position next season.
Despite some strong late-season form, Echuca export and 2021 Brownlow medallist Ollie Wines did not poll a vote in this season’s count.
Wines and the Power enjoyed another strong home-and-away season but were bundled out of the finals in straight sets, with attention now turning to 2024.
Former Echuca juniors Jack Viney and Clayton Oliver also found themselves in the votes.
Viney was second only to Christian Petracca in Melbourne’s vote-getters, notching 24 thanks to seven best-on-ground performances.
Oliver suffered an injury-plagued year but still managed six votes after placing equal fourth in 2022.
It was also a memorable weekend for former Dee Marty Hore.
The Leitchville-Gunbower product capped a stunning 2023 campaign to take out Williamstown Football Club’s Gerry Callahan Medal as the Seagulls’ best-and-fairest in the VFL.
The accolade follows VFL Team of the Year honours for the 28-year-old, who continues to make a strong case for reinstatement to the AFL.
What a year: Marty Hore (left) added Williamstown’s best-and-fairest to his VFL Team of the Year accolade. Photo: Williamstown Football Club
It was also a solid finish to the year for another Echuca Moama export at AFL level, with Noah Long placing 10th in West Coast’s Worsfold Medal earlier this month.
This came after an industrious debut AFL season for the former pick 58, who defied a dark year for the Eagles to make his mark in the West Coast forward line.
And his form hasn’t gone unnoticed, as Long looks poised to inherit retiring Eagle captain Luke Shuey’s prized #13 jumper next season.
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