Calcedo, Jackson, Raiti & Creek named fairest & best

The VAFA would like to congratulate the four winners who each came away with a medal from last night’s Division 1 – 4 competition vote counts.

Sean Calcedo (Preston Bullants) was named the Division 1 LS Pepper Medallist with 29 votes from his 18 matches. Calcedo caught fire throughout the middle of the year and polled seven 3’s and a 2 in the space of eight matches between Rounds 5-12. He may have only obtained three votes in his last six games but the damage had been done, with Calcedo finishing ahead of Oakleigh pair James Hunt (24) and Aaron Cloke (23). 2017 Division 2 Medallist and Prahran Assumption skipper James Musster also polled heavily with 20. Calcedo’s twin brother, Dean, took out the same award last year and his three medals gives the family a total of four.

Three votes in Round 18 gave UHS-VU midfielder, Brandon Jackson, a two-vote win in the Division 2 Fullerton Medal count. Jackson, who was named best afield in last year’s Division 3 premiership with the Vultures, trailed Whitefriars coach Kristian Height by one vote heading into the final round before piecing together a magnificent nine-goal performance against Power House. Height finished his first season with the club on 16 votes, while Billy Wilson (Bulleen Templestowe) and Jackson’s teammate Esubalew Ramsay (UHS-VU) polled 15 each. Jackson was one of three winners who will play in a grand final this weekend.

The Division 3 Hutchinson Medal was a blowout as Hawthorn AFC’s Justin Raiti stormed home with 34 votes, 12 ahead of Westbourne Grammarians star Michael Culliver. Raiti sat on seven votes after Round 7 before exploding with 27 in the last 11 rounds. He polled 10 3’s; including, six in a row from Rounds 9-14. Culliver finished runner-up on 22 votes before injury his knee late in the season, while Jack Amies (Albert Park) polled 18 despite the Falcons winning just one game for the year. Glen Eira’s Lachlan Pound and Canterbury’s Sam Murphy round out the top five with 17 votes each.

Proceedings kicked off sensationally for Division 4 grand finalists Parkside, with young gun Marco Creek named the OJ Meehan Medallist. Creek polled 24 votes to finish one ahead of St Francis Xavier’s Daniel Chin while his Red Devils teammate Adam Wells finished third with 17. Creek had 10 votes by Round 4 and finished with a total of six three-vote performances. Parkside had three players in the top five with Isaac Romano equal-fourth with Peter Cassidy-Marsh (Mt Lilydale) on 14.