Monday 6 September 2010
Brilliant NT Thunder onballer Cameron Ilett polled top votes in the final round of the season to break free of a deadlock with Southport star Danny Wise and claim the Syd Guildford Trophy for the QAFL Record player of the year tonight.
It was fitting recognition for an outstanding season by the strongly-built Darwin product.
Ilett finished with 37 votes to win by five from Wise, while another Southport player Darren Pfeiffer was third on 30 votes.
Not only did Ilett dominate in the midfield, he was his side’s second leading goalscorer with 36 goals from the 18 qualifying rounds.
Ilett polled best afield votes three times in four weeks from Rounds 8-11 to storm into contention, and they included matches against top sides Southport and Mt Gravatt.
He polled the best-on-ground five-vote on six occasions in total, including a loss to the Brisbane Lions in Round 15 and the last match against Broadbeach.
Ilett led the count at the halfway mark with 17 votes from Labrador’s Mat Clarke (14) and Wise and Broadbeach’s Dayne Zorko (13), although Wise was the leader by three from Ilett when voting went secret for the last month of the year.
Wise enjoyed a remarkable mid-season run when he polled six times in seven weeks from Rounds 6-12.
As a QAFL player, Ilett was selected for Queensland in the State game against Tasmania in June and starred, making a remarkable 12 effective tackles and winning plenty of ball at the same time.
He finished second in the voting for the Zane Taylor Medal for Queensland’s best player behind Paul Shelton.
Ilett won the Thunder’s inaugural best and fairest award in 2009 and will start a warm favourite to go back-to-back.
Pfeiffer began slowly with eight votes in the opening half of the season but polled in every game from Rounds 10-16 to put himself in contention, although he missed out in the final two rounds.
Aspley recruit Matt Shir did well to finish fourth in a team that won just the seven games – and he carried an injury through the last six weeks.
Grand finalist Labrador’s Langwarrin recruit Shane Paterson was the Tigers’ highest votegetter with 24, one more than the skilful Clarke.
Irishman Pearce Hanley was the Brisbane Lions’ leading votegetter with 13.
This is the sixth season that the Syd Guildford Trophy has been presented and is the only QAFL best player award other than the Grogan Medal. Syd Guildford was a champion QAFL and Queensland player who played a league record 333 games for Wilston-Grange from 1963 to 1981.
Top Placegetters
37: Cameron Ilett (NT Thunder)
32: Danny Wise (Southport)
30: Darren Pfeiffer (Southport)
26: Matt Shir (Aspley)
26: Dayne Zorko (Broadbeach)
24: Jamie Sheahan (Aspley)
24: Shane Paterson (Labrador)
23: Jacob Gough (Morningside)
23: Mat Clarke (Labrador)
23: Phil Carse (Redland)
23: Damien Bonney (Morningside)
23: David James (Southport)
Club Leaders:
Aspley
26: Matt Shir
24: Jamie Sheahan
Brisbane Lions:
13: Pearce Hanley
12: Aaron Cornelius, Clayne Beams
Broadbeach
26: Dayne Zorko
9: Simon Rusell, Josh Searl
Labrador
24: Shane Paterson
23: Mat Clarke
Morningside
23: Jacob Gough
23: Damien Bonney
Mt Gravatt
17: Jake Furfaro
16: Nathan Gilliland
NT Thunder
37: Cameron Ilett
17: Brett Goodes
Redland
23: Phil Carse
13: Scott Clouston
Southport
32: Danny Wise
30: Darren Pfeiffer
Western Magpies
11: Ed McDonnell
10: James Rozynski
