Troy Luff Medal - Rounds 21 and 22

[Charlie]

Welcome to the eleventh instalment of the 2005 Troy Luff Medal! Tonight, we complete our review of the home and away season, with the wins over the Kangaroos and Hawthorn. From there, finals performances will determine who wins the first ever Premiership year Troy Luff Medal!

Let's have a look at the vote tally after round 20:
42. Craig Bolton
36. Jude Bolton, Brett Kirk
35. Adam Goodes
32. Barry Hall
18. Amon Buchanan
15. Ryan O'Keefe
14. Leo Barry, Luke Ablett
13. Paul Williams
9. Darren Jolly, Michael O'Loughlin
8. Nick Davis, Tadhg Kennelly
5. Lewis Roberts-Thomson
4. Nic Fosdike
3. Jared Crouch
2. David Spriggs, Luke Vogels, Adam Schneider
1. Jarrad McVeigh

Can Craig Bolton, with his six-vote lead, become our first 'dark horse' to win the TLM? Will one (or perhaps more) of Jude Bolton, Brett Kirk, Adam Goodes or Barry Hall snatch it from him in the last weeks of the season? Are we heading for the first ever Troy Luff Medal tie? We will all know soon.

When the Swans hosted the Kangaroos for our final home game of the home and away season, a top four spot was on the line. By beating the 'Roos, the Swans could cement third place the next week. A win to the Roos, however, could see the Swans fall to fifth. Happily, the Swans put all thoughts of losing aside with a seven goal first quarter. By half time, the Swans were eight goals ahead, with Nick Davis the star with four goals. The Swans dropped to a lower gear in the second half, but the win was never in doubt. Aside from Davis, Barry Hall and Brett Kirk were amongst the best.

The votes:
5. Nick Davis
4. Brett Kirk
3. Luke Ablett
2. Tadhg Kennelly
1. Barry Hall
1. Lewis Roberts-Thomson

Brett Kirk has made some crucial ground on Craig Bolton, and Barry Hall is holding on to stay in contention. Congratulations to all six players.

The Swans travelled to Melbourne in round 22, to complete their home and away campaign against the Hawks. The Swans only had to win to secure third spot, and the Hawks - with a priority pick hanging in the balance - weren't expected to cause too many problems. More interest revolved around Barry Hall's Coleman Medal chances. Hall was five goals behind, but it was quickly apparent that he had no interest in winning the individual prize, choosing to set up teammates even when within range of goal. Hall finished with three, but had 19 touches and 13 marks. Nick Davis (four goals), Brett Kirk, Craig Bolton, Amon Buchanan and Ryan O'Keefe were also amongst the best.

The votes:
5. Barry Hall
4. Brett Kirk
3. Nick Davis
2. Ryan O'Keefe
1. Craig Bolton

Congratulations to all five.

So, with only the four finals to go in our Premiership season, Brett Kirk has snatched the lead by a single vote! Barry Hall is thereabouts, but a quiet start to the finals will hurt. Nevertheless, with Kirk and Craig Bolton both finishing the season very well, this is guaranteed to be the closest Troy Luff Medal yet. Here's the vote tally:
44. Brett Kirk
43. Craig Bolton
38. Barry Hall
36. Jude Bolton
35. Adam Goodes
18. Amon Buchanan
17. Luke Ablett, Ryan O?Keefe
16. Nick Davis
14. Leo Barry
13. Paul Williams
10. Tadhg Kennelly
9. Darren Jolly, Michael O?Loughlin
6. Lewis Roberts-Thomson
4. Nic Fosdike
3. Jared Crouch
2. David Spriggs, Luke Vogels, Adam Schneider
1. Jarrad McVeigh

Join me tomorrow night as we look at the ill-fated qualifying final against West Coast, and the miraculous win by Nick Davis (er, um... Sydney) over the Cats in the semi final.

Charlie

[Go Swannies]

Great work Charlie - it stays exciting. And, overall, you get the idea that RWO have good judgement of the players. I think Schneider would be distressed to see he's below LRT but he should be.

Crouch, I suspect, is so reliable that we overlook how important he is to the team.

[Jeffers1984]

Good stuff Charlie. I expect Crouchy to get votes in at least 3 of the 4 finals.

[goswannie14]

Well done Charlie...good to see Lukey Ablett polling well in a season where he really stepped up his form. I have to agree that this poll is a really good yard stick of who the best performers week by week...keep up the good work.

[RogueSwan]

Keep up the good work Charlie. I can' t wait to hear the final result.
Surely Crouchy will poll well in the first final. Solid as a rock!

[Plugger46]

Kirky to take it out from here. Four solid performances should be enough to see him hold on.

[Mel]

Charlie, this is great. I love your little recap of each game before letting us know where the votes went. Looking forward to the last two installments.

[Sanecow]

Craig Bolton must rate in the first final (behind Nick Davis but he's not looking very threatening ATM).

[BonBon]

Re: Troy Luff Medal - Rounds 21 and 22

Originally posted by Charlie
2. Ryan O'Keefe

Yes!

[Lucky Knickers]

I didn't vote this year so have watched this with interest. I am very surprised at the daylight between the Top 5 and the rest.

[SimonH]

It's pretty odd, in that a large number of the 'week in, week out' players who play a huge part in the team's performance like Crouch, Dempster, Ball and even the much-maligned (but you've gotta admit, consistent) Benny Mathews, are roundly ignored.

And yet CBolt is exactly that type of 'not flashy, but plays his part perfectly for the team every week' player, and he's polled out of sight.

It would be a bit much to ask for a photo finish. Kirky's inspirational efforts through the finals will mean that he keeps accumulating votes faster than the consistent-but-not-showstopping CBolt, whereas BBBH's first 2 finals will kill him, and there's no way Delta's mate or Goodesie did enough to make up an 8 and 9 point gap. The real finals stars in Crouch, Buchanan and Davis are already out of contention. So, barring some truly weird voting, congratulations to our 2006 captain on his TLM win!