A LATE flurry of votes for Essendon Doutta Stars’ Mark Lynch captured the RS Reynolds Medal last night as the Essendon District Football League premier division’s best and fairest player.
Lynch trailed Greenvale’s Rowan Nayna by eight votes after round 14 in the count at the Moonee Valley Racing Club but stormed home to take the count with 26 votes to Nayna’s 24.
Lynch polled two votes each in rounds 15 (Strathmore) and 16 (Avondale Heights), moved within one of Nayna with three votes against Maribyrnong Park in round 17 and then claimed victory with the last votes called on the night by polling three against Keilor in the final round.
Nayna failed to poll a vote after round 14.
Strathmore’s Daniel Jones, runner-up to Cragieburn’s Barry Brooks last season, claimed his second consecutive podium finish with 18 votes in third.
Lynch is the first Stars player to win the medal since Aaron Ramsey in 2006, who tied with Strathmore’s Dale May.
Essendon Doutta Stars may have missed the top four in premier but did enjoy a competitive season with an eight-win, 10-loss record.
Lynch was named in his own club’s best on seven occasions, four of them first best, and booted 22 goals for the season. Nayna was never named first best for Greenvale during the home-and-away season but did make the best in nine of his 16 appearances and kicked 10 goals.
Strathmore had no one standout player in its unbeaten home-and-away season and shared the votes with Jones (18), Adam Iaccobucci (16) and Carl Groth (13) with all making the top five.
Taylors Lakes star Mark Desousa etched his name into EDFL history by winning the Bill Hutchison (B grade/division 1) medal for the third time, having tied with Pascoe Vale’s David James in 2009 and won the medal outright in 2010.
The Lions’ onballer was a runaway winner with 33 votes from West Coburg’s Abdikane Fitaax on 21 and Airport West’s Daniel Harris on 19.
Desousa joins Aberfeldie’s Clinton Casey, who won the Hutchison Medal in three consecutive years, 1980-82. Hillside’s Tumay Hamza won the division 2 medal with 15 votes from East Keilor’s Daniel Bonnici on 14.
