IT was deja vu in Sunday’s finish to the Harding Medal for the Loddon Valley Football Netball League’s senior football best and fairest award.
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Just as it was a year ago, Bridgewater onballer Adam Parry claimed the medal as Pyramid Hill’s Gavin James was runner-up.
Parry’s dominance in the “engine room” for the unbeaten Mean Machine was shown in votes cast by the umpires.
A tally of 29 votes for the-now dual Harding medallist included the maximum three votes in eight matches.
By the halfway mark those at the vote count at the Bendigo District RSL were wondering if any player would catch Parry.
The Bridgewater star had raced to 17 votes in nine games.
Best-afield performances in rounds 10 and 13 put Parry well in front of the pack.
James was on 12 votes after 11 rounds and racked up another five in a late charge to finish on 17.
The medal winner and runner-up both said this season was not as dominant as 2013.
In Parry’s case, the umpires thought differently about his impact on matches.
The onballer said being a tight-knit group was a key to Bridgewater’s success.
“Andy Collins is brilliant as a player and coach,” Parry said of his return to the club after playing AFL with Richmond and Carlton.
Parry and the rest of his team-mates will now focus on playing a key role in Saturday’s grand final clash with Bears Lagoon-Serpentine at Mitiamo.
“We are expecting another tough match,” Parry said.
Parry joined Mitiamo’s Luke Mitchell, Bears Lagoon-Serpentine’s Ron Ford as Harding medallists in consecutive seasons.
All the club-by-club voting for the Loddon Valley's Harding Medal award:
BEARS LAGOON-SERPENTINE: Nathan McNally 14; Gareth Bowes, James Orr 8; Michael Ring *, Jye Sandiford, Josh Shaw 4; Shaun Bowles 3; Brodie Leonard-Shannon, Justin Wilson * 2; Nic Arthur, Jack Williams 1.
BRIDGEWATER: Adam Parry 29; Zac East 13; Callum Prest 12; Zeb Broadbent 8; Darren Clutton 7; Andy Collins, Brad Rohde 4; Deon Jones, Alex Pollock 3; Danny Childs, Taylor Strachan 2; Alex Collins, David Harrison, Marc Lindsay, Josh McLeod 1.
CALIVIL UNITED: Jay McDonald, Henry Miller 5; Glen Richardson 3; Justin Hynes, Bradley Masson, Evan Ritchie 2.
INGLEWOOD: Jackson Hart 5; Ben Rose 3; Jye Bryan 2; Joshua Essex, Jayden Sheean, Matthew Thomas, Brandon Worner 1.
MARONG: Corey Gregg 13; Craig Morris, Richard Tibbett 10; Chris Morgan, Daniel Turcarelli 6; Josh McKee 4; Braden Hender 3; Nathan Devanny, Brett Rogers 2; Trevor Borg, Paul Thomson 1.
MITIAMO: Matthew Perri 13; Aaron McKean 5; Thomas Grant 4; James Drake, Denis Grinton 3; Brayden Baines, Terence Reeves 2; Ben Bacon, Spike Ingley 1.
NEWBRIDGE: Lachlan Ford, Jordan Gilboy 15; Rhys Ford 9; Angus Fortune 7; Brad Comer, Shaun Knott 4; Ryan Burt, Tyson Holt, Billy Price 2; Damian Hughes, Joshua White 1.
PYRAMID HILL: Gavin James 17; Balraj Singh 15; Lincoln Withers 11; Leigh Davies 6; Liam Bartels, Rhys Bradley, Paul Grayling, Troy Parker. Jaryd Wishart 3; Shannon Hammond * 2; Craig Crichton, Bryden Morison 1.
YCW: Nic Waterson 7; Adrian Cronin, Daine Lowry, Ryan Walker 5; Shaun White 4; Christian Sargeant 3; David Millard, Mathew Waterson 2; Levi Moss, Tim Wood 1.
* Ineligible
