Mansfield’s Callum Brown capped off an impressive debut season in the Goulburn Valley League by taking out the Morrison Medal on Monday evening.

The Eagles midfielder took out the 2025 medal with 20 votes in a dramatic count at the GV Hotel, nudging Rochester’s Mitch Trewhella by one vote.

Shepparton’s Jacob Watts polled 23, but was unable to claim the award as a final-round suspension made him ineligible, the first time this has occurred since 2019.

Brown leap-frogged Trewhella in the final round, polling two votes to pip the Rochy gun to the top prize.

Trewhella had blitzed away with 17 votes after nine rounds to lead the count by five but would add only two more in the home stretch to finish runner-up for a second consecutive year.

Kyabram champion Kaine Herbert rounded out the podium with 18 votes, while Echuca forward Hugh Byrne finished only a vote behind him.

Brown expressed his surprise at winning, revealing that his move to Mansfield in 2025 was driven by a desire to rediscover his passion for the game - a decision that clearly paid off.

“I didn’t think I was going to win it,” Brown said.

“I felt a bit bad for the Shepp bloke (Watts), it’s tough.

“I missed a few games so I thought I might get to the top few, but a bit of luck’s needed in these things, and I was lucky enough to poll in a few.

“I was playing VFL last year, and I was really keen to take a step back and enjoy my footy a little bit more - I was definitely able to do that (at Mansfield).

“I had a good chat to Bo (Christopher), Jack Hutchins, Mitch Wareham when I was first thinking about coming to the club and just got a great sense of the club they were and the people they were talking about.

“I spent many years in Mansfield kicking a footy on holiday growing up so it’s cool to do it at senior level now.”

The 27-year-old former Collingwood player is Mansfield’s first winner of the Morrison Medal since Trent Hotton in 2007 and just the clubs’ second since joining the GVL.

He averaged 33 disposals, 137 ranking points and booted 12 goals out of the midfield in a solid case for the Morrison but admitted there was a bittersweet element with the Eagles bowing out of the premiership race.

“It’s a tough one with the (preliminary final) loss yesterday, a bit bittersweet, but it’s been a good year for the club,” he said.

“We came from seventh last year to third and a prelim and almost got to the big dance which is pretty cool.

“It was a pretty good year all in all, and I’m pretty excited to see what we can do next year and a couple of years further.”

Shepparton United’s Kade Chalcraft took out the MVP gong.

In the Abikhair Medal, Shepparton Swans big man Thomas Magee reigned supreme in the reserve-grade football count.

After playing only three games in as many seasons, Magee strung together a sublime 20-game campaign for the finals-finishing Swans, polling 24 votes to finish seven ahead of joint runners-up Al Bennett (Mansfield) and Christian Toy (Rochester).

The Pattison Medal under-18 best-and-fairest will hail from Shepparton Football Netball Club for a second consecutive year, with Noah Muir taking out the top prize with 25 votes.

Muir followed up Jensen Dowling’s effort last year and will be hoping it’s the first of two medals he receives this week, with the Bears facing Mooroopna in the 2025 thirds grand final.

Muir nudged out Mansfield’s Sam Guppy with 21 votes, who finished a vote ahead of Echuca’s Baxter Cowley.

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Monday, 1st May 2023

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