Hotker polled 157 votes to finish a clear winner from Alex White (82) and Dylan Cox (62).

After playing his junior football at South Warrnambool, Hotker has spent the past six years at South Rovers.

The 26-year-old said he was happy with his season.

“I played onball most of the season and spent some time back as well,” Hotker said.

“It was a pretty consistent season and we made some good progress as a team.

“Winning the first six games of the season gave us a lot of confidence.”

The Lions went on to win 10 games for the year to finish in fifth place.

They suffered a heavy elimination final loss to Timboon Demons.

“We are on the right track, we know we have some areas to improve in,” Hotker said.

“We need to be a bit stronger around the ball so we can match it with those more mature teams.

“Consistency is another thing we need to improve, against the good sides you have to play four quarters.” 

The A grade netball best and fairest was won by coach Jess Rohan with Abby Sheehan second and former coach Lisa Pender third.

Best-and-fairest winners in other grades:

Football:

Reserves, 1^st Dechlan Picken, 2^nd Scott Nicholson, 3^rd Marty Jennings.

Under 17.5s, 1^st Harrison Baker, 2^nd Jack Dowd, 3^rd Griffen McLeod.

Under 14.5s, 1^st Ty Wood, 2^nd Miles Picken, 3^rd Chad Yates.

Netball:

A reserve, 1^st Nadine Porter, 2^nd Kylie Carter, 3^rd Megan Whelan.

B grade, 1^st Emma Downie, 2^nd Lauren Pender, 3^rd Amy Jenkins.

17 and under, 1^st Hannah Garner, 2^nd Lilly King, 3^rd Ashlee Twaddle, Amelia Coutts.

15 and under, 1^st Molly Farley, 2^nd Emma MacLean, 3^rd Zahra Walker.

13 and under, 1^st Grace Biggs, 2^nd Ashlyn Whelan, 3^rd Poppy Brown.