By Ant Wingard @AntWingard
Broadbeach dynamo Blake Erickson has extended his lead atop the Syd Guildford Trophy after Round 9 with a maximum ten-vote performance in the Cats’ win over Sandgate.
Following his best-on-ground performance in Broadbeach’s 148-point thrashing of the Hawks on Saturday, Erickson extended his lead over second place by seven votes in the count.
In his first true season with Broadbeach, Erickson has established himself as one of the competition’s best and most influential midfielders throughout the first half of the 2018 season having been named among the Cats’ bests in six of his seven games this year.
In years previous, Erickson had only played at most four games for the Cats having spent time with both Southport and Gold Coast in the NEAFL, but his first genuine QAFL season is panning out exceptionally for the native New South Welshman.
Erickson’s ten-vote game in Round 10 was just one of many Cats to poll in the Syd Guildford Trophy as Broadbeach enjoyed a clean sweep in the coaches’ votes.
Teammates Evan Panozza (eight votes), Matt Fowler (six), Brandon Chadwick (three), Seb Rogers (two) and rising star Shawn Watson (one) also found themselves in the vote count.
A plethora of Morningside Panthers dominated the voting following their upset 102-point thrashing of southside rivals Mt Gravatt.
Alistair Nash (nine), Peter Mollison – who moved into the top ten and Campbell Wearne (both five) all boded well following the game.
Voting wasn’t as favourable for the Vultures, with skipper Michael Hamill (one) the lone Mt Gravatt player to feature.
Redland NEAFL defender Stephen Mills earned a game-high eight votes in the Western Magpies’ landmark win over Labrador on Saturday.
The athletic Mills was complemented well by fellow defender Billy Johnson (two) in the defensive half.
Magpies Brady Allen (six) and Luca Winton (five) also polled well as did Labrador veterans Wayne Mills (four) and Bryce Retzlaff (three).
The voting from a tight contest at Sir Bruce Small Park on Saturday between Surfers Paradise and Wilston Grange was indicative of the game itself, as Demons and Gorillas players shared the voting.
Demon forward Tom Howard earned a game-high eights after a consistent performance inside 50.
Cass Haberfield retained his spot in the Syd Guildford’s top two and Daniel Green, who returned to the side this week, earned five votes each in the game.
The remaining votes were divided up between Matt Doran (four) and Gorillas trio Ryan Thomson (four), Joey Daya (three) and Myles Lawler (one).
The Syd Guildford Trophy is awarded to the player judged the best in the competition by the QAFL’s nine coaches.
Voting is conducted by each coach post-game on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis. As such, the maximum amount of votes a single player can earn in a game is 10.
In a change from previous years, votes are cumulative. Updates of the Syd Guildford Medal voting will be published on the AFL Queensland website for the first 14 rounds of the season, however following Round 14, votes will go blind.
The winner will be announced at the Grogan Medal Dinner on September 16.
See the full Round 9 votes below.
Morningside v Mt Gravatt
9 – Alastair Nash (Morn)
5 – Peter Mollison (Morn)
5 – Campbell Wearne (Morn)
4 – Edward Mallan (Morn)
3 – Matthew Logan (Morn)
2 – Kent Abey (Morn)
1 – Michael Hamill (Mt G)
1 – James Rayner (Morn)
Western Magpies v Labrador
8 – Stephen Mills (WM)
6 – Brady Allen (WM)
5 – Luca Winton (WM)
4 – Wayde Mills (Lab)
3 – Bryce Retzlaff (Lab)
2 – William Johnson (WM)
2 – Kale Reed (WM)
Surfers Paradise v Wilston Grange
8 – Tom Howard (SP)
5 – Cassidy Haberfield (SP)
5 – Daniel Green (SP)
3 – Ryan Thomson (WG)
3 – Matt Doran (SP)
3 – Joey Daye (WG)
2 – Sam Gribble (WG)
1 – Myles Lawler (WG)
Broadbeach v Sandgate
10 – Blake Erickson (BB)
8 – Evan Panozza (BB)
6 – Matthew Fowler (BB)
3 – Brandon Chadwick (BB)
2 – Sebastian Rogers (BB)
1 – Shawn Watson (BB)
LEADERBOARD
41 – Blake Erickson (BB)
34 – Cassidy Haberfield (SP)*
30 – Campbell Wearne (Morn)
28 – Jarryd Douglas (PBC)
23 – Dyson Budarick (Lab)
22 – Thomas Thynne (PBC)
21 – Peter Mollison (Morn)
20 – Jason Burge (PBC)
20 – Nicholas Crowley (PBC)
20 – Ryan Harwood (WM)
20 – Andrew Smith (Mt G)
