DANIEL Toman secured his place in Bendigo VFL history by winning the Nick Carter Medal on Saturday night.
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In what was the final event for the now-folded Bendigo Gold at the Silks Function Centre, midfielder Toman won the club’s best and fairest ahead of a tie between captain Steven Stroobants and Tyrone Downie.
“Daniel had a super season for us and is just an accumulator,” Gold coach Aussie Jones said.
“In all the statistics, we’d generally be behind the opposition most weeks except for Daniel... most of the top possession-getters would be from the opposition, but he was right up there in the top four or five just about every game.
“But not only would he rack possessions up, he’s so efficient with the ball and rarely turned it over.”
Toman’s win came 12 months after he was runner-up to Alik Magin in last year’s best and fairest.
Toman was recruited to the Gold from the Northern Blues.
Saturday night’s Nick Carter Medal came 24 hours after the Gold played their final game in what was a 46-point loss to Collingwood at the QEO.
“Everyone who got their opportunity to speak touched on the disappointment and the missed opportunity going forward, but overall, it was all about enjoying the night and rewarding the people who have not only played good footy this year, but also rewarding people for their off-field contributions,” Jones said.
“There’s no doubt there was sadness and emotion in the room, but people enjoyed the night for what it was, but probably the reality hasn’t sunk in yet.”
Bendigo’s VFL record through 17 seasons dating back to 1998 as the Diggers, Bombers and Gold ended with 80 wins, 239 losses and two draws from 321 games.
• Bendigo Gold 2014 awards:
Best and fairest: Daniel Toman.
Runners-up: Steven Stroobants and Tyrone Downie.
Leading goalkicker: Tyrone Downie (31).
Most consistent: Jack Sketcher.
Most professional: Jesse Wallin.
Graham Warfe Memorial best first-year player: Sam Heavyside.
Best team player: Matthew Farrelly.
Most courageous: Jake Aarts.
Coaches award: Jeremy Lambden.
Best clubman: Sean Rashleigh.
Ken Lynch Outstanding Service award: Ken Pata.
Life memberships: Wendy Taylor, Ken Lynch, Theo Kapakoulakis, Daniel Schmidt, Wal Thelen, Steven Stroobants.