Dyson Heppell has capped off a career-best season by taking out his first Crichton Medal at the club’s 2014 Best and Fairest.
Heppell was presented with the award at Crown Palladium this evening in front of a capacity crowd, and was also presented with the John Kilby Best Clubman Award as well as the Cheersquad Award.
Following his first selection in the 2014 All-Australian side, Heppell has cemented himself as an elite midfielder of the competition. The 22-year-old missed just two matches through injury, averaging 28.5 disposals from his 21 matches.
Heppell started the season across halfback before making the move into the midfield and quickly became the Bombers’ most dominant and consistent performer. He finished the season with the most tackles of any player in the side with 99 for the season. Heppell also averaged five clearances and 12 contested possessions per game.
The midfielder from Leongatha, Victoria finished fourth in the AFL Players Association MVP Awards and was named captain for the second successive year of the 22under22 side.
2014 Senior Coach Mark Thompson said Heppell had shown talent beyond his years and was a worthy winner of the club’s Best and Fairest.
“Dyson is a terrific young man and he’s a really easy player to coach,” Thompson said.
“He is only young, but has started to prove he will be a future leader of this football club. With Jobe out injured earlier this year, Dyson stood up time and time again, and from a coaching perspective that was great to watch.
“I really feel Dyson took his game to a new level this season. He demands the best from himself and his teammates. He’s been close the last couple of seasons, so to win this award, I think, is reward for his hard work and preparation. He is going to be exciting to watch over the next few seasons.”
Heppell finished a clear winner with 520 votes, ahead of fellow All-Australian member Cale Hooker who polled 354 votes to finish in second place. 2013 Crichton Medallist Brendon Goddard finished third accumulating 279 votes.
Top 10
Dyson Heppell - 520
Cale Hooker - 354
Brendon Goddard - 279
Michael Hibberd - 277
David Zaharakis - 250
Michael Hurley - 242
Patrick Ryder - 241
Mark Baguley - 240
Paul Chapman - 231
A number of other awards were presented this evening, including:
Bruce Heymanson Best Team Player – Heath Hocking
Bill Hutchison Community Award – Cale Hooker
Cheersquad Award – Dyson Heppell
RA Freeman VFL Best and Fairest – Ariel Steinberg
John Kilby Best Clubman – Dyson Heppell
Matthew Lloyd Leading Goal Kicker – Joe Daniher
Lindsay Griffiths Rising Star – Joe Daniher
Most Improved Player – Travis Colyer
Adam Ramanauskas Most Courageous Player – Mark Baguley
Best Defensive Player – David Myers
