THE Ovens and Murray’s Morris and Toni Wilson Medal night saw a number of Magpies and Rovers players recognised for outstanding seasons. In the senior football it was Yarrawonga superstar midfielder Willie Wheeler who claimed the Morris Medal, while North Albury’s Emily Browne made history in being the first ever netballer to win four Toni Wilson Medals. In the reserves football it was Wangaratta Rover Noah Amery who took out the Leo Burke Medal ahead of Wangaratta’s Braeden Marjanovic. Amery polled 24 votes ahead of his Magpies opponent. “It’s always nice to win individual accolades but it’s always better to win premierships and unfortunately we missed out,” Amery said. “But it is nice to get a little bit of recognition for the year that I had and obviously all of this stuff doesn’t happen without my teammates. “I’ve probably got to thank my ruckman because he fed me all year so that’s one there for you ‘Redders’ (Nicholas Redley). “Sometimes it’s difficult to play reserves for a lot of the year because you want to be playing senior football but our coaches Ben Kneebone and Shane Flynn brought a lot of the joy back to playing reserves.” In the under 17’s netball Wangaratta’s Milly O’Kane tied with Wodonga 14-year-old Arhi Cohen for the league medal. O’Kane and Cohen finished on 26 votes, two votes ahead of North Albury’s Sammi Murray. In the under 15’s netball it was Wangaratta Rovers rising star Lainey Draper who was a clear winner on 36 votes, six ahead of Wodonga Raiders’ Zali Fryer. Draper capped off a stellar season after winning the best on court medal in the under 15’s interleague game. "I was not expecting it, I'm so happy," Draper said. "I haven't played with many of the girls in the past, but we got to know each other really well and we're really close now." The Ovens and Murray also announced their teams of the year for both the senior football and A grade netball. Wangaratta Rovers had five players named in the football side with Sam Murray, Brodie Filo, Xavier Allison, Tom Boyd and Sam Cattapan receiving the honours. Callum Moore was the sole Magpie to be selected. Wangaratta then had three players picked in the A grade team of the year with Leah Jenvey (WD), Hannah Grady and Issy Newton (interchange) named. And finally, Wangaratta claimed the Overall Club Championship for the best performance across all grades of football and netball, while Rovers were named the Football Club Champions with all three grades featuring deep in finals.
