Hawks' Noah Wheeler, Roos' Chelsea Sartori win BFNL medals

Wheeler won the BFNL senior football Michelsen Medal on Sunday night with 24 votes, while Sartori polled 25 to claim the A grade netball Betty Thompson Medal.

Held at The Bendigo Club, tough on-baller Wheeler - a Bendigo Pioneers' best and fairest in 2018 - won the Michelsen in what was his third season with the Hawks.

It was a leaderboard filled with gun midfielders with the top five featuring Wheeler, Gisborne's Flynn Lakey (22), Sandhurst's James Coghlan (18), Golden Square's Tom Toma (18) and Sandhurst's Sam Conforti (16).

Wheeler made a flying start to the count, polling nine votes across the first three rounds with best-on-grounds against South Bendigo (34 possessions, 11 tackles, 8 clearances), Maryborough (36 possessions, 13 marks, 5 goals) and Gisborne (26 possessions, six clearances).

The 23-year-old would go on to poll in a further six games against Golden Square in round eight (2 votes), Sandhurst in round nine (3), South Bendigo in round 10 (2), Maryborough in round 11 (2), Kangaroo Flat in round 15 (3) and Kyneton in round 16 (3).

Wheeler played all 18 home and away games for the Hawks and, according to Premier Data statistics, averaged 22 disposals, 4.2 marks, 6.9 clearances and 4.3 tackles, while also booting 21 goals. Wheeler led the count by five votes on 21 from the chasing Lakey (16) after 15 rounds, with Toma a further vote back on 14.

Three more votes in round 16 in the Hawks' 87-point win over Kyneton - a game in which he racked up 30 disposals, 10 marks and seven clearances - moved Wheeler to 24 and ensured he couldn't be overtaken.

Wheeler had an unassailable seven-vote lead over both Lakey (17) and Toma (17) with two rounds remaining as he became the 10th Eaglehawk player to win the Michelsen Medal and the first since Brodie Filo in 2015.

With the top five place-getters all midfielders, the highest-placed non on-baller was Strathfieldsaye full-forward Lachlan Sharp, who was sixth on 14 votes.

Then followed a pair of ruckmen in Sandhurst's Hamish Hosking and South Bendigo's Mac Cameron on 13 each.

Meanwhile, in the Betty Thompson Medal, Kangaroo Flat's Sartori made a late charge to surge to victory.

In a season where she missed several games because of a calf injury, Sartori went one better than last year's runners-up finish to win the medal.

Of Sartori's winning tally of 25 votes, she polled 13 across the last five rounds to win ahead of Sandhurst's Shae Clifford (22), Kangaroo Flat team-mate Ash Ryan (21), Castlemaine's Fiona Fowler (21) and South Bendigo's Chloe Langley (20).

Sartori sat equal sixth after 12 rounds on 12 votes, five shy of leader Fowler before rocketing into, firstly contention, and then the lead.

Between rounds 14 and 17 Sartori polled four best-on-courts in games against Castlemaine (won 62-39), Eaglehawk (won 65-20), Strathfieldsaye (won 60-44) and Kyneton (won 64-30) and by the start of the final round she had the medal in the bag.

Sartori's hot streak of three-vote games elevated her to 24 after round 17 and her nearest rival, Fowler, four votes back on 20.

Sartori closed her home and away season out with one vote in the Roos' 98-12 win over Golden Square to finish on 25.

Sartori is the seventh Kangaroo Flat player to win the Betty Thompson Medal and first since Karly Bingham in 2012.

24 - Noah Wheeler (Eaglehawk)

22 - Flynn Lakey (Gisborne)

18 - James Coghlan (Sandhurst)

18 - Tom Toma (Golden Square)

16 - Sam Conforti (Sandhurst)

14 - Lachlan Sharp (Strathfieldsaye)

13 - Hamish Hosking (Sandhurst)

13 - Mac Cameron (South Bendigo)

12 - Brad Bernacki (GIsborne)

11 - Brody Haddow (South Bendigo)

11 - John Watson (Castlemaine)

11 - Ricky Monti (Golden Square)

10 - Lewin Davis (Eaglehawk)

10 - Luke Webb (Strathfieldsaye)

9 - Callum McCarty (Strathfieldsaye)

9 - Cameron Manuel (Kyneton)

9 - Joel Brett (Golden Square)

25 - Chelsea Sartori (Kangaroo Flat)

22 - Shae Clifford (Sandhurst)

21 - Ash Ryan (Kangaroo Flat)

21 - Fiona Fowler (Castlemaine)

20 - Chloe Langley (South Bendgo)

18 - Alicia McGlashan (South Bendigo)

17 - Claudia Collins (Strathfieldsaye)

16 - Meg Williams (Sandhurst)

15 - Charlotte Sexton (Sandhurst)

15 - Kelsey Meade (Sandhurst)

11 - Claudia Mawson (Gisborne)

14 - Kirby Elliott (Gisborne)

14 - Rebecca Smith (Sandhurst)

13 - Caitlyn Hamilton (Strathfieldsaye)

13 - Milly Wicks (Kangaroo Flat)

12 - Kiralee Collings (Gisborne)

12 - Zoe Davies (Gisborne)

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