Sam Durham clinched a superb second place in the Bombers’ best-and-fairest count, polling 106 votes to finish 11 behind eventual winner Zach Merrett, who claimed a club record-equalling seventh Crichton medal.
Leading the count after round 20, Durham missed the final fortnight of what had been a spectacular season to that point, with Merrett overtaking the midfield bull in the final few rounds.
A supremely tough midfielder, Durham enjoyed career highs in 2026, tallying 30 disposals for the first time against Carlton in round 13 to go with a goal, while performances such as his 25-disposal, two-goal effort against North Melbourne in round 16 typified his relentless attitude.
“I think I got up here last year after coming third, and I wanted to really pride myself on being a consistent AFL player,” he said on stage after being presented with his second-place award.
“I thought I did that throughout the year, and you obviously have your moments, but moved up the order a little bit into second.”
Along with second in the Crichton medal count, Durham took out the Adam Ramanauskas Most Courageous Player Award on the night.
The list of accolades continues to grow for the former carpenter, who has made a rapid ascension to become a fully-fledged Bombers star just a handful of seasons into his career, having been plucked off the Richmond VFL list in the 2021 mid-season draft.
It is a rise that still shocks the man himself to a degree, with the 25-year-old expressing disbelief when asked about his journey.
“If you had have told the bloke on the job site that I would be standing here coming second in a Crichton Medal, I would have told you to go get stuffed,” he said.
“Obviously, I’m really proud of how far I have come, and for my family, it’s for them as well, so it’s pretty cool.”
Having twice finished third and now adding a runner-up finish to his name across the past three seasons, Durham will no doubt be eyeing off his first club best-and-fairest, and will have plenty of opportunity to do so, having earlier this year signed a contract extension tying him to the club until 2032.
It is a significant show of confidence in the beleaguered Bombers from Durham, who said he had no doubt at all about the direction the club was heading in, with a strong group of young players joining the fray as well as new coach Mark McVeigh and general manager of performance John Longmire.
“Signing on I had (been pitched) the vision of the club and got behind it straight away,” Durham said.
“All the boys here, all the young guys are awesome, I love them to bits, so I want to do anything for the club and the boys (to have) success.”
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