James Hird's name was further immortalised at Windy Hill tonight when he won his fifth Crichton Medal, taking him past other Club legends Simon Madden and Tim Watson who both won four. Only Dick Reynolds and Bill Hutchison have won more - both having seven best and fairest medals to their names. A fifth Crichton Medal was a fitting finish for the famous number five - Essendon greatest living player - and he received a rousing ovation for the 1500 people that attended the event at the Crown Palladium Ballroom.

The Essendon legend snuck home to win by just two votes, after his thrilling round 22 performance against West Coast in his last match of AFL football saw him narrowly defeat the ever-reliable Dustin Fletcher.

Mark McVeigh and Scott Lucas tied for third place. Despite missing five games this season with a calf injury, Hird proved that age was no barrier with the Bomber champion's class and silky skills allowing him to have a major influence in a game of football, right to the end of his career.

Hird has previously won the club’s Best and Fairest award in 1994, 1995, 1996, 2003 (tied with Scott Lucas).

2007 Crichton Medal Top 10:
James Hird 251
Dustin Fletcher 249
Mark McVeigh 223
Scott Lucas 223
Adam McPhee 220
Brent Stanton 197
Matthew Lloyd 192
Damien Peverill 183
Andrew Welsh 153
Jobe Watson 141

Note: Crichton Medal voting is based on three members of the match committee giving a maximum of 10 votes for up to eight players in each game.

Other award winners:
Bill Hutchison Award – Andrew Welsh
Lindsay Griffith’s Rising Star Award – Alwyn Davey
Most Courageous – Adam Ramanauskas
Striving for Excellence – Andrew Welsh
Most Improved – Jason Winderlich
Leading Goalkicker – Matthew Lloyd

Multiple winners of the Crichton Medal:
7 – Dick Reynolds. Bill Hutchison
5 – James Hird
4 – Simon Madden, Tim Watson,
3 – Tom Fitzmaurice, Wally Buttsworth, John Birt, Barry Davis, Graham Moss
2 – Scott Lucas, Jason Johnson, Mark Thompson, Ken Fraser, Reg Burgess, Jack Clarke