By Stuart Kavanagh
This coming Monday night will see the 2022 Lionel Johnston & Jan Corey medal for the best men’s and women’s player of the competition awarded at the medal count being held at the competition’s Awards night in the Broken Hill Civic Centre.
The best men’s and women’s player are, of course, the headliners for the event, but they’re not the only awards set to be handed out.
The men’s award is anybody’s this season.
There are a whole host of players who can lay claim to this year’s award.
Will South’s domination of the competition this season, once again lead to a clean sweep of the podium when the count is finalised? Can Roos’ captain Marc Purcell win the award for the second year running?
In the Jan Corey medal, Central’s women’s side will surely poll strongly.
The Magpies women have been sensational this season, so expect to see some of them in and around the leader board on the big night.
The burning question in the Jan Corey medal count is, will we see another runaway winner like last year when Hannah Muscat won the medal for a second time by a whopping 25 votes? That victory was something of a precursor to her move to North Adelaide in the SANFLW. Does the same opportunity beckon for this year’s winner?
All will be revealed this Monday night.
Alongside the two live medal counts, awards will also be handed out to umpires and volunteers. Additionally, awards will be handed out in every grade too.
The men’s and women’s team of the year award will named also, along with the prestigious ‘Mail Award’ for the best player of the year, as voted on by the umpires.
As if that wasn’t enough, this year’s event will see the first ever Cobalt Blue Team of the Year award and the inaugural Cobalt Blue Club person of the Year awarded too. Although these particular awards are in their infancy, all four clubs will be desperate to get the distinction of winning them for the very first time.
AFL Broken Hill Chairman, Andrew Schmidt, told the Barrier Truth, “we are hoping for a crowd of around 170 to 200. It’s a wonderful opportunity for officials, members and supporters to come along.”
Tickets are still available for the event. Get yours at https://www.brokenhill.nsw.gov.au/Community/Events-Calendar/Lionel-Johnston-Medal-Presentation-Night
Picture: Can Roos’ captain Marc Purcell win the award for the second year running?
