Saturday, September 25, 2021

Southern and Northern Championship 2021 Awards

Photo:  Sam Leszczynski (centre) won the 2021 Vic Tuting Medal. {PlessPix] 

2021 Southern Championship Award Winners

Best & Fairest

Vic Tuting Medal 2021:  Samuel Leszczynski (New Town)

Southern Championship Women’s Best & Fairest 2021:  Sophie Young (University)

Southern Championship 1 Best & Fairest 2021:  John Wani (Hobart United)

Southern Championship Women’s 1 Best & Fairest 2021:  Alicia Wilson (Clarence)

Southern Youth U/18 Best & Fairest 2021:  Declan Taylor (Taroona)

Photo:  John Buga was the leading marksman in the Southern Championship with 21 goals from 21 games.  It's a pity that the Hobart United versus New Town White Eagles was not replayed after being abandoned after a floodlight failure on a Friday night. [PlessPix]
 

Golden Boot

Southern Championship Golden Boot 2021:  John Buga (Hobart United)

Southern Championship Women’s Golden Boot 2021:  Sophie Young (University)

Southern Championship 1 Golden Boot 2021:  Callum Back (New Town) & Mulugeta Smith (South Hobart)

Southern Championship Women’s 1 Golden Boot 2021:  Annika Coles (Clarence)

Southern Youth U/18 Golden Boot 2021:  Daniel Arnaiz (South Hobart)

Photo:  Tommy Fotak coaches Eagles to the 2021 Southern Championship title and was fittingly named as the coach of the year. [PlessPix]  

Coach of the Year

Southern Championship Coach of the Year 2021:  Tom Fotak (New Town)

Southern Championship Women’

s Coach of the Year 2021:  Amey Jambekar (University)

Referee Awards 

Southern Championship Referee of the Year 2021:  Zack Van Toor

Young Referee of the Year 2021:  Josh Berry

2021 Northern Championship Award Winners

Best & Fairest

George Dale Medal 2021:  Beau Blizzard (Somerset)

Northern Championship Women’s Best & Fairest 2021:  Lucy Reimer (Ulverstone)

Northern Championship 1 Best & Fairest 2021:  Christopher Pickering (Launceston United)

Northern Championship U/18 Best & Fairest 2021:  Hamish Young (Burnie)

Golden Boot

Northern Championship Golden Boot 2021:  Henry Andrews (Devonport)

Northern Championship Women’s Golden Boot 2021:  Meg Connolly (Riverside)

Northern Championship 1 Golden Boot 2021:  Christopher Pickering (Launceston United)

Northern Championship U/18 Golden Boot 2021:  Hamish Young (Burnie)

Coach of the Year 

Northern Championship Coach of the Year 2021:  Beau Blizzard (Somerset)

Northern Championship Women’s Coach of the Year 2021:  Stephen Pearce (Northern Rangers)

Referee Awards

Northern Championship Referee of the Year 2021:  Charlie Vella

Young Referee of the Year 2021:  Riley Kuys

 

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

2021 Awards, and recent losses to the game

Photo:  Kasper Hallam (left) playing against Olympia Warriors. [PlessPix] 

The 2021 season is done and dusted, so I just want to mention the individual awards that were handed out at a recent Football Tasmania function.

Kasper Hallam, the South Hobart striker, won the NPL Tasmania best-and-fairest award, as well as the player’s player of the year award (I think they call it the NPL MVP Award).

Why do we keep borrowing terms from other sports?  For example, MVP is an American term for NFL and NBL, while ‘best on ground’ is a term used in AFL and never in our code of football, where it’s usually referred to as ‘man of the match’, or ‘player of the match’.  When have you ever heard of ‘best on ground’ in relation to the EPL?  I’m afraid these things irk me, but I’m probably getting old.

I do, however, wish people would stick to terminology that is part of our code of football.  I’ve noticed some reports on Slice of Cheese referring to someone ‘booting’ goals.  Now that’s a term never used in football (because there are other ways of scoring than using the feet) but common in AFL.

There’s my gripe for the day.  Sorry, Kasper, but you fully deserve both awards, whatever they’re called, and I reckon you’re a marvellous player who always has a smile on your dial through thick and thin.  Well done!  I hope I didn’t take the shine off your awards with my whinging.

Photo:  Launceston United's Jessica Robinson. [PlessPix] 

Photo:  Laura Davis (No.10) in action for Kingborough Lions United. [PlessPix] 

The Women’s Super League best-and-fairest award was shared by Kingborough Lions United's Laura Davis and Launceston United’s Jessica Robinson.

The WSL’s MVP was Olympia Warriors’ Inocent Michael.

The WSL Rising Star was Devonport’s Annalee Bidwell and the NPL Tasmania’s Rising Star was Olympia Warriors’ Kyle Vincent.

Photo:  Devonport's Brody Denehey was the NPL Tasmania's leading marksman. [PlessPix]  

The Walter Pless Media Award went to Devonport’s Brody Denehey and the MyState WSL Media Award was won by Clarence Zebras’ Zoe Nichols.

As a footnote, although the men’s media award has my name on it, I don’t actually vote unless there is a tie.  The votes are cast by Tasmania’s three daily newspapers, the TV stations and a few other football media personnel.

The NPL Golden Glove Award (sounds like a boxing award, doesn’t it?) went to Glenorchy Knights goalkeeper Lachlan Hart, while the WSL equivalent was awarded jointly to Olympia’s Kaycee Ponting and Launceston United’s Sydney Carnie.

The NPL Golden Boot Award for the top goalscorer was won by Devonport’s Brody Denehey with 22 goals.

The WSL Golden Boot Award was shared by Clarence Zebras’ Zoe Nichols and Kingborough Lions United’s Laura Davis with 24 goals apiece.

The NPL Coach of the Year was South Hobart’s Ken Morton and the WSL Coach of the Year was Clarence Zebras’ Ronnie Bolton.

Photo:  Referee Brenton Kopra. [PlessPix]  

The NPL Tasmania Referee of the Year was Brenton Kopra and the WSL Referee of the Year was Claire Green.

Photo:  Claire Green (left) putting on a show for the cameras. [PlessPix] 

Congratulations to all the winners.

If it wasn’t for someone sharing a link, I wouldn’t have seen all these award winners because I can’t seem to access the Football Tasmania Facebook site.  I’m not on Facebook, so perhaps that is why.  Is it a private site?

All the other State federations have public Facebook sites which anyone can look at.  Why is it a ‘closed shop’ on the Football Tasmania website?

Another mystery and one that does the football public no favours at all.

*****

There have been some sad losses in Tasmanian football recently.

My condolences go to the families and friends of the following personalities who graced the game in Tasmania and contributed to it:

Graeme Speight (University), Greg Ellis (Kingborough Lions United) and father of Cameron Ellis, a current coach at Kingborough), Tom Kelly (former leading referee, who passed away in England aged in his 90s, and father of Eamonn Kelly), and Robert Bearham (Metro).