PORT Adelaide champion Warren Tredrea has written another page in his club’s long history, winning his fourth John Cahill Medal for the Power’s best-and-fairest player.
Tredrea won the 2009 medal after a cliffhanger vote count in front of 850 guests at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, finishing three votes ahead of dual best-and-fairest winner Kane Cornes.
Tredrea – who enjoyed an injury free season for the first time in many years – won his previous three Power best-and-fairest awards in 2001, 2004 and 2005.
Recently re-signed, Tredrea will play his 250th match for the club next season, the first player to do so for the Power in the AFL. He led the club’s goalkicking this year with 51 goals, the eighth time he has led the club in that category, but the first time since 2005.
It is the sixth successive year Kane Cornes has finished in the top three in the club’s best-and-fairest count, including wins in 2007 and 2008, an outstanding achievement.
Defender Troy Chaplin finished third in this year’s count, closely followed by Jacob Surjan and Robbie Gray (equal fourth). Travis Boak finished sixth, just ahead of skipper Dom Cassisi, with Alipate Carlile, Danyle Pearce and David Rodan rounding out the top 10.
After Tredrea and Cornes, five of the next seven placegetters were aged 23 or under (with Surjan also having just turned 24).
Tredrea took the lead after his heroics against Richmond in round 8, when he kicked seven goals – including the match winner – and then took the match-saving mark in the dying seconds. That performance gained Tredrea the maximum possible 16 votes for a single game – the only time this has been achieved in Power history.
Daniel Motlop had led the count to that point, after which Tredrea was never headed, although Surjan drew level after round 18.
In other awards, captain Cassisi won the Fos Williams Medal as the player’s choice for the club’s Best Team Man, the second successive year he has picked up the coveted award.
Cassisi was hampered by a slow start to the season in the best-and-fairest count, gaining just nine votes from the first six rounds. He gathered 69 votes from the remaining 16 games, bettered only by Tredrea (70 votes).
Travis Boak won the Gavin Wanganeen Medal for the Best Player Aged Under 21, while the Most Improved Player award went to Robbie Gray and Best First Year Player to Hamish Hartlett.
The Power also inducted three new members into the Port Adelaide Football Club Hall of Fame – Angelo “Ongie” Congear, Kenneth (Lloyd) Zucker and Gavin Wanganeen – and honoured retiring 2004 premiership trio Peter Burgoyne, Brendon Lade and Toby Thurstans, as well as medico Dr Peter Barnes.
POWER 2009 BEST & FAIREST – TOP 10:
1st - Warren Tredrea (103 votes)
2nd - Kane Cornes (100 votes)
3rd - Troy Chaplin (92 votes)
=4th - Robbie Gray & Jacob Surjan (91 votes)
6th - Travis Boak (81 votes)
7th - Domenic Cassisi (78 votes)
=8th - Alipate Carlile & Danyle Pearce (73 votes)
10th - David Rodan (70 votes)
OTHER AWARDS:
Fos Williams Medallist (Players’ Choice – Best Team Man) – Domenic Cassisi
Gavin Wanganeen Medallist (Best Player Aged Under 21) – Travis Boak
Most Improved Player – Robbie Gray
Best First Year Player – Hamish Hartlett
