LEW Kelly Medallist Jon Manson is an old-fashioned footballer.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
“I am no champion, that’s for sure,” the Hamilton Kangaroos utility said.
“I thought I was honest enough but that was about it.
“I am not very polished with my skills or anything like that but I like to crack in and have a go and hopefully blokes can feed off that when I get the ball out.”
Manson, 29, said he was surprised to win the Hampden league’s reserves best and fairest yesterday at City Memorial Bowls Club.
The hard nut midfielder-defender polled 16 votes to edge out teammate Ian Watt on 13.
North Warrnambool Eagles’ Sam Batten and South Warrnambool’s Scott Nicolson tied for third with 12 votes. Manson snared votes in seven games, including four best-on-ground efforts.
He admitted to nerves as the count reached its finale.
He said he was humbled to win the award, one of the biggest individual achievements of his career.
“We got the invite so I thought I might have been top 10 or top five but I never thought I was coming here to win, that’s for sure,” Manson said.
“I was nervous at the end though when my name was at the top of the board and thought ‘what’s going to go on here?’.
“I am very surprised to win it … there are probably a lot of other people who are surprised as well.
“I am happy to win it. I’ll take it, but I wasn’t expecting it.”
Manson, who has played for Hamilton Imperials and Cavendish, and Watt will play in Hamilton Kangaroos’ first reserves grand final on Saturday against fellow Hampden league newcomer Portland.
“Watty had a great year. He’s not long been playing footy so he’s come along in leaps and bounds,” Manson said. “He’s a very good player and he’ll be very pivotal for us on the weekend, I think.
“Watty will play mostly forward and pinch hit in the ruck a bit and I will mostly play mostly back and go into the midfield at some stage but it just depends on where (coach) Angus Brown wants us to go.”
Manson, who has a Western Border reserves premiership to his name, is expecting a down-to-the-wire grand final on Saturday.
Hamilton Kangaroos won the two sides’ first two battles but Portland turned the tables in the semi-final.
“It should be a cracking game. It was a couple of goals (between us), a point the next time and three points there a couple of weeks ago,” he said.
“It could go either way. Hopefully we can turn up with the right attitude and see how we go.”
