There is invariably a luckless sub-story in most great football stories, and the 2026 SUNS Club Champion was no different.

Bodhi Uwland’s win is a great story. A homegrown kid, a SUNS member for as long as he can remember and a graduate of the StreetSmarts SUNS Academy.

A player originally overlooked in his draft year due to a back stress fracture who eventually went at pick No.37 in the rookie draft and then spent his first AFL season in 2022 in a back brace, and was a member of the club’s first VFL premiership side in 2023.

And now the fourth player in club history to win the top award after being runner-up the year before, following Touk Miller (2021), Noah Anderson (2023) and Sam Collins (2024).

But Uwland would be the first to concede that Collins was dreadfully stiff this year.

At Round 20, with four games to play, Collins (52 votes) led by seven from Uwland (45) and 11 from Mac Andrew (41).

But the 32-year-old vice-captain was a victim of his own courage when a heavy collision in the second quarter of the Round 21 clash with Melbourne changed everything.

Going back with the flight of the ball he crashed into Melbourne’s Ed Langdon. A Langdon knee collected Collins in the ribs. He stayed down. And he never stays down. His day was done.

Ironically, Collins and Langdon are mates who shared a similar football journey. From opposite sides of Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay, Collins from Werribee in the west and Langdon from Glen Iris in the east, both were drafted to Fremantle in the 50s in the National Draft.

Langdon played two games in 2015 before Collins arrived for the 2016 season, and when Collins made his debut against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium in Round 10 of his first season Langdon played his eighth game.

Almost freakishly, playing his sixth game for the Dockers was Connor Blakely, later to be drafted by the SUNS and share in the SUNS' 2023 VFL premiership, and in game No.13 was StreetSmarts SUNS Academy product turned SUNS star Lachie Weller.

Collins played 12 AFL games in 2016 and two in 2017 before a surprise de-listing and a re-start with the SUNS in 2019, while Langdon played five years and 68 games with Fremantle before a 2020 move to Melbourne and a 2021 premiership.

Collins could have been excused for thinking Langdon was a bad-luck charm after they’d played together seven times with the Dockers for an 0-7 record.

There was a temporary respite in Collins’ second game for the SUNS in 2019 and his next meeting with Langdon, when a late David Swallow goal gave him a three-point home win over Melbourne.

The head-to-head battle has gone 7-2 to Langdon’s Demons since then, but the crunching blow to his old mate’s ribs in Round 21 was more personal than team-related. It was a cruel blow to Collins’ Club Champion prospects. Even more so when Uwland polled three votes in that game and Andrew one vote.

It got worse. Collins missed the Round 22 win over GWS and Uwland and Andrew polled the maximum five votes. Uwland had hit the front. It was Uwland 53, Collins 52 and Andrew 47.

Collins, who had won Victorian State of Origin selection in the pre-season, bravely returned in Round 23 against Brisbane and picked up two votes. Uwland received one vote and Andrew missed out. It was down to two. Collins and Uwland were deadlocked at 54.

As it turned out, battling Collins wouldn’t be available for the last game against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.

It is the second time Collins has been runner-up in the club’s top award and his sixth top-five finish in a row after injury cut short his first season at the club in 2019. In a remarkably consistent run he’s gone 1st-4th-5th-2nd-1st-5th-2nd.

Collins has become the second SUNS player behind Miller with seven top-five finishes.

Swallow has six top-five finishes, while Anderson, who finished fifth this year, now has five to equal the tally of Gary Ablett. Jarrod Harbrow, Tom Lynch and Jarrod Witts have four.

Details of the 35 players who have had a top-five finish are:

7 – Touk Miller – 4-2-2-1-1-3-5
7 – Sam Collins – 1-4-5-2-1-5-2
6 – David Swallow – 4-1-2-2-3-3
5 – Gary Ablett – 1-1-1-4-1
5 – Noah Anderson – 2-1-5-2-5
4 – Jarrod Harbrow – 5-2-1-4
4 – Tom Lynch – 2-1-1-4
4 – Jarrod Witts – 1-3-4-5
3 – Michael Rischitelli – 3-5-5
3 – Matt Rowell – 3-4-1
2 – Aaron Hall – 5-5
2 – Charlie Ballard – 4-5
2 – Jack Martin – 3-3
2 – Steven May – 3-4
2 – Jaeger O’Meara – 3-5
2 – Dion Prestia – 2-3
2 – Danny Stanley – 5-3
2 – Rory Thompson – 4-4
2 – Bodhi Uwland – 2-1
1 – Mac Andrew – 3
1 – Harley Bennell – 2
1 – Nathan Bock – 2
1 – Campbell Brown – 5
1 – Brandon Ellis – 5
1 – Sam Flanders – 3
1 – Brayden Fiorini – 5
1 – Hugh Greenwood – 4
1 – Bailey Humphrey – 4
1 – Kade Kolodjashnij – 2
1 – Leo Lombard – 4
1 – Wil Powell – 2
1 – Alex Sexton – 5
1 – Matthew Warnock – 4
1 – Lachie Weller – 3

TOP FIVE FINISHES SUMMARY

7 – Touk Miller, Sam Collins
6 – David Swallow
5 – Gary Ablett, Noah Anderson
4 – Jarrod Harbrow, Tom Lynch, Jarrod Witts
3 – Michael Rischitelli, Matt Rowell
2 – Aaron Hall, Charlie Ballard, Jack Martin, Steven May, Jaeger O’Meara, Dion Prestia, Danny Stanley, Rory Thompson, Bodhi Uwland
1 – Mac Andrew, Harley Bennell, Nathan Bock, Campbell Brown, Brandon Ellis, Sam Flanders, Brayden Fiorini, Hugh Greenwood, Bailey Humphrey, Kade Kolodjashnij, Leo Lombard, Wil Powell, Alex Sexton, Matthew Warnock, Lachie Weller