World News – UA – Nic Nat’s Huge Career First

The final epic West Coast elimination against Collingwood has been a battle over in more ways than we originally thought

The match, won by a single point to the death of the Magpies, saw juggernaut ruck Nic Naitanui overtake his midfielder teammate Andrew Gaff in the John Worsfold medal count to win his first club the best and the fairer with better performance in the field

Naitanui had entered the game behind Gaff by three votes, but had probed the maximum of 15 among the coaches to overtake the midfielder in the final tally

In one of the closest finishes in club history – Don Pyke and Glen Jakovich tied for prize in 1993 – Naitanui got 194 votes to 192 for Gaff

The ruckman had played one game less after resting from the West Coast’s 16th inning clash with the Western Bulldogs

Brad Sheppard polled 163 votes to finish third while defenseman Tom Barrass recorded his best Worsfold medal result, finishing fourth with 154 votes

A third defenseman, Liam Duggan, was fifth while explosive forward Liam Ryan was sixth with Tim Kelly, Jack Darling, Josh Kennedy and Shannon Hurn completing the top 10

It was Naitanui’s fifth place in the top 10 club champion award for the Eagles, his previous record being fifth in 2010

This year’s tally was his ninth top-10 in the past decade and his eighth in the top five He won the medal in 2015 when the Eagles made a grand final and finished third in 2016

Naitanui was expected to play an important role after winning his second Australian jumper this year – the first time he was part of the honorary national team since 2012

Naitanui had wielded almost unprecedented dominance over the competition at the center of competition in 2020, prompting Geelong coach Chris Scott to admit that the problem with a goal against the Eagles was that the ball had to return In the center

The big ruckman averages just under 30 strikeouts per game in the shortened match format with just under six clearances per game

Sheppard received the Chris Mainwaring medal for best clubman, Josh Rotham took home the club’s emerging player award after 10 games of the season Naitanui’s remarkable effort against Collingwood meant he also won the club’s emerging player the final

Meanwhile, defenseman Eric Mackenzie, whose career was cut short by a foot injury after winning the 2014 Worsfold medal, has been made a life member

Jamie Cripps also got a lifetime membership after passing the 150-game mark for the club during the season

Nic Naitanui, West Coast Eagles, Collingwood Football Club, Andrew Gaff, John Worsfold Medal