SCHOOLMATES Paddy Mahony and Braden Hotker had been ribbing each other about who would win the Judd Cup for the past week.
Last night they led home a South Warrnambool quinella in the Hampden league’s under 18 best and fairest award with Mahony pipping Hotker by one vote.
Mahony polled 18 votes, including five best-on-ground performances with three in a row from rounds 12-14.
While Mahony polled in seven games, Hotker, with four three-votes, polled in eight matches.
He came with a rush, receiving seven in the final three games of the season, including two best-on-ground performances in rounds 17 and 18.
The win capped the league’s night of nights for junior grades which saw Port Fairy sisters Rebekah and Sarah Moroney claim the under 17 and under 15 netball best and fairest awards while North Warrnambool Eagles’ Kate O’Meara was victorious in the under 13s.
It was Mahony’s second league best and fairest win in three years, having won the Warrnambool and District league under 17 highest individual honour in 2008 while playing with Allansford.
“I’m very surprised and pretty honoured,” he said.
“I thought Braden Hotker was a big chance. We’ve both been getting into each other, he thought I would win.
“It’s a great honour to be up with a lot of the names. It’s always good winning individual awards but you want the team success.”
Mahony said he left Allansford to join the Roosters to play alongside “14 or 15 mates”, most of whom go to school together at Emmanuel College.
Unfortunately he was unable to share his triumph with all his friends with more than two-thirds of the team on a school trip to the snow, including Hotker.
While Mahony is developing a habit of winning individual honours, it’s team success that he craves most.
The 18-year-old midfielder said his focus, and that of his South teammates, was winning this year’s flag after being beaten by Warrnambool in the 2009 season-decider after being minor premiers.
He said he enjoyed playing alongside his mates.
“But I’m pretty serious about it, especially last year when we lost the grand final.”
Undefeated after the home-and-away season this year, Mahony said 2010 was about redemption.
He said coach Brendan Coffey had been a great influence in his past two years at South.
“He’s very good at keeping our feet on the ground,” he said.
Mahony opened last night’s count with the first vote to be read out — a one in the opening game of the season.
He played the first three games of the season in the under 18s before mixing games in the under 18s and seniors.
He played eight senior games as a forward/midfielder but said he was unlikely to be recalled to the elite level for the finals with the Roosters’ senior side doing so well.
Mahony will have little time to celebrate his success with the junior Roosters training three times this week — because of their week off for finishing on top of the ladder — before watching second-placed Warrnambool and Terang Mortlake battle it out in Saturday’s qualifying final.
He intends staying on to support the seniors in their qualifying final against the Bloods.
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