Bodhi Uwland didn’t win All Australian selection on Tuesday night, but he did receive an overwhelming endorsement from former SUNS assistant coach Ken Hinkley.
The 23-year-old SUNS defender was named in the All Australian side chosen by Hinkley, the recently retired Port Adelaide coach and newly appointed coach of the Tasmanian Devils.
He was effusive in his praise of homegrown Bodhi Uwland, who was all of six when Hinkley joined the SUNS in 2010 ahead of their AFL entry in 2011.
“I’ve watched him a lot this year and I think he could be something special. He plays on smalls and talls, and has a good mix of defence and attack. And from what I understand, he’s going to be a real leader at the SUNS,” Hinkley said.
It wasn’t exactly a big night for the SUNS as Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn became the first person in AFL history to win All-Australian selection nine times, and Collingwood’s Nick Daicos claimed the two major individual awards – the Leigh Matthews Trophy as the AFLPA Most Valuable Player, and the AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year Award.
But it was a night Leo Lombard will remember as he finished sixth in the Telstra AFL Rising Star Award voting.
Under the 5-4-3-2-1 voting system of the 11-member All-Australian selection panel, Carlton’s Jagga Smith polled a near-perfect 54 votes to win from clubmate Harry Dean (39), West Coast’s Willem Duursma (31), North Melbourne’s Cooper Trembath (28) and West Coast’s Jobe Shanahan (7).
Lombard was best of the rest with three votes, receiving one vote each from former Carlton and Adelaide forward Eddie Betts, long-time AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan and AFL football boss Greg Swann.
The only other players among the 24 weekly nominees to poll in the final vote were Essendon’s Sullivan Robey and Dyson Sharp, and Geelong’s Mitch Edwards. They received one vote each.
There was also some SUNS recognition as the AFL Coaches Association presented its Defensive Player of the Year Award for the first time.
This was decided on the weekly votes of each coach after every game in similar fashion to the AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year Award, where each coach votes 5-4-3-2-1.
In the Defensive Player of the Year Award, each coach awarded two votes and one vote in each game.
St Kilda captain Callum Wilkie was a surprise runaway winner with 42 of a possible 46 votes – 10 clear of Brisbane’s Harris Andrews, Sydney’s Tom McCartin and Geelong’s Connor O’Sullivan (30).
GWS defender Connor Idun (28) was fifth, ahead of Uwland and SUNS vice-captain Sam Collins (23), with Mac Andrew (20) finishing 15th.
The other SUNS ‘winner’ on the night was Matt Rowell although he probably didn’t know it.
After the dinner, votes for Rounds 22, 23 and 24 in the AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year Award, which had been kept secret, were unveiled. And Rowell topped the voting in each game against GWS, Brisbane and St Kilda.
In Round 22 in Canberra, Rowell polled the maximum 10 votes in the SUNS’ two-point win over the Giants. Touk Miller (8), Noah Anderson (6), Ned Moyle (2), Wil Powell (1) and Bailey Humphrey (1) completed the votes.
In Round 23, when the SUNS were beaten by Brisbane at the Gabba, Rowell (4), Moyle (3) and Miller (2) figured in the voting before Rowell (9) and Anderson (8) topped the list in the Round 24 win over St Kilda at Marvel Stadium from Miller (4), John Noble (3), Moyle (2), Uwland (2) and Lombard (1).
This saw Rowell, who played only 18 of 23 games, charge home to top the SUNS aggregate voting in the award won last year by Anderson in a tie with Geelong’s Bailey Smith.
Rowell (49) headed the SUNS voting from Anderson (46), Christian Petracca (38), Miller and Uwland (33), Noble (31) and Collins (25).
Anderson polled in 10 games, most by a SUNS player, from Miller (8), Rowell (7), Collins and Uwland (6), Noble, Petracca and Andrew (5), and Moyle (4).
Other SUNS players to poll were: Andrew (13), Ben King (12), Humphrey (10), Moyle (10), Daniel Rioli (9), Jarrod Witts (8), Ben Long (5), Zeke Uwland (4), Powell (2), Ethan Read (2) and Lombard (1).
