Tara Murray
Hillside’s Josh Covelli capped off a stunning Essendon District Football League division 1 season by claiming the Hutchison Medal.
Covelli kicked 98 goals in the regular season as he helped guide his side to a top three finish. He then kicked his 100th goal in the finals.
On Thursday night, he added the title of the division 1’s best player.
Covelli polled 17 votes to finish two clear of Rupertswood captain Daniel Kavanagh.
The full forward said his heart was racing as the final votes were being counted. Hillside had allowed him to invite a number of mates and his wife to the night which made it even specialer night.
He joked he didn’t think the umpires liked him as they didn’t pay him many free kicks.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “I thought he was going to catch me and it went down to the end.
“Absolutely awesome.”
Covelli said personally he thought it was the best season that he’d had playing football.
It comes after last year when he considered giving the game away after struggling to get his body right.
“It was the first season I’ve played all 16 games in five years,” he said. “It was a big part for me.
“It was a really big accomplishment and durability to myself after the last four years. I was able to put games together.
“As much as I was playing and playing well, just being able to get out there week after week, that was really important for me.”
Speaking after he kicked his 100th goal, Covelli told Star Weekly that he had proved a lot of people wrong.
When he moved to Hillside from Burnside Heights, many people didn’t think that he would be successful in division 1.
The medal further proved he could.
“There were a few people when I was reminiscing after my 100th that I felt like picking up the phone and giving them a call,” he said. “Telling them I did something more than just a div 3 [2] player.
“This is really nice.”
Covelli said he would give back the medal if it meant they had some team success instead.
The Sharks were knocked out of finals in straight sets.
“That’s what you play for, to win the flag,” he said. “We are going to be super strong next year, so it’s exciting to see what we can do.”
Meanwhile in women’s premier division, Hillside’s Hannah Irbrahim finished equal second in the best and fairest.
She polled 13 votes, one behind winner Chiara Guarino.
