The Merrivale stalwart stood tall in defence as the Tigers kept Panmure at bay for 15 frantic minutes in the last quarter.

His efforts rebounding from the back line earned him the AFL Victoria Country Medal for the best player, as voted by the umpires.

The accolade gave Kelly a rare double.

He won the Don Grossman Medal for being best afield in the reserves grand final in 2003, kicking six goals as a key forward.

But his importance to the Tigers a decade on is as a backman, sweeping up at the fall of the ball and turning defence into attack.

Kelly said he was surprised to have his name read out as the winner of one of the best-afield medals.

“It was a bit weird. When I was standing there I didn’t think for one second they were going to read out number 15, Scott Kelly,” he said.

“I thought I played OK. I had a bit of time on the bench. We had seven go through there and we wanted to keep them all fresh.

“Especially for those last 20 minutes which were just manic. I guess it was an OK game.

“That last quarter was just a blur really. It was up and down, up and down, you’re just running. You don’t really analyse what’s going on.”

Kelly was far from the only Merrivale defender who played their role in the grand final. Todd McLean kept Tom White goalless, although the Panmure forward let himself down with inaccuracy when he did lead and mark well.

Mark Stewart was also deservedly among the Tigers’ best, while Matthew Gleeson enjoyed a good duel with Daniel Roache and James Keane.

Roache kicked two goals in the third term and looked like he would be the game breaker, but Gleeson ultimately took the honours.

“That’s what we pride ourselves on down there. We’re a pretty tight unit,” Kelly said.

“That’s the fourth game in a row now, three finals, that a team hasn’t kicked 10 goals. That’s a bit of a feather in our cap.

“It’s a whole unit down there. I’m lucky to get this but there are six blokes down there who all work hard together.

“You keep your opposition to less than 10 goals three finals in a row, you’re going to win more than you lose.”